Opponents made top bets. American Ray Benjamin mashed the old world record. But he will still not be able to claim the title of Olympic champion.
Karsten Warholm wrote sports history and became the first man in the world to run for 46 seconds.
The new world record is 45.94. It was a polishing of his own world record with a full 76 hundredths – a margin, which will go down in athletics history as one of the most remarkable.
On July 1 at Bislett in Oslo, Warholm broke the American Kevin Young’s 29-year-old world record of 46.78. On Tokyo’s fast Olympic tracks, he ran at a level that left the athletics world speechless.
Not even Warholm seemed to think the time was right when he looked at the scoreboard. He tore his competition suit out of happiness and ran to the stands to rejoice with his loved ones.
– Incredible. I did not think it would go that fast, Warholm said later in an interview with Discovery.
Ray Benjamin made the course of his life, but had to settle for silver.
– He runs at 46.17 and he is worth a gold. Great respect for him, Warholm said about his opponent.
The bronze went to Alison dos Santos from Brazil.
That the duel between Warholm and Benjamin would end with a world record was not unexpected. The American, who took World Cup silver behind Warholm in Doha in 2019, ran 46.83 at the American Olympic competitions and showed good form in the qualifiers.
The Olympic final was also a battle between the two of them. Warholm, true to his habit, went rock hard and was in the lead for large parts of the race. At the beginning of the riot, Benjamin approached, but the Norwegian had a gear to put in.
The 26-year-old from Ulsteinvik not only performed the best race of his life – it was one of the most perfect races that athletics history has seen.
– It was a perfect race – the timing could not have been better. I felt I was in control and I had faith that I was the best today, Warholm said and explained that his coach Leif Ove Alsnes told him before the race that it was possible with a time of 46 seconds.
“With the right attitude, you can go far,” Warholm told Discovery.
The text is updated.
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