SOGNSVANN (Dagbladet): This summer, double world champion Karsten Warholm met His Majesty King Harald himself at Bygdøy Kongsgård, together with coach Leif Olav Alnes in connection with the NRK series “Karsten and Leif”.
The meeting between King Harald and the successful athletics duo was warm and cordial.
However, two aspects took some of the viewers’ focus away from the good conversation, we must believe the feedback that Warholm has received afterwards.
One was the choice of clothing – more specifically the shorts – which the world champion in the 400 meter hurdles chose in the meeting with King Harald.
The second was how Warholm eventually indicted King Harald with direct “you-form”, from what started with a polite third-person indictment after the book.
– I have learned a lesson from it
Karsten Warholm now explains to Dagbladet why this was the case and the feedback he has received.
– I got a lot of feedback on the shorts. The first feedback came from the king himself. The king acknowledged this and said he was jealous, because it was a very hot day. Others are more conservative and thought it was stupid. I have learned a lesson from that. The most important thing was that we had a sick nice chat. Then next time I will have to put on longer trousers, Warholm concludes to Dagbladet.
However, most of the feedback – on the situation as you can see in the video above – has been good.
– It was a conversation between three people who are passionate about sports. The tip must be to avoid these things that steal attention from the wonderful conversation we actually had, acknowledges the healthy lubrication.
– What was the background for the election?
– It was a hot day. I guess it was 30 degrees. I dressed for the conditions, as I have been told by my mother, he says and smiles.
“You must not do that”
Coach Alnes thought something different before the meeting with His Majesty King Harald.
– Leif was probably more there that he thought we must wear long pants. He is more conservative. It was not really that well thought out on my part. I did not think much other than that here I had a cool suit with matching shorts. We had never made Leif go like this, Warholm points out.
As the good conversation flowed, Warholm experienced a sense of relaxed conversation between friends. Then the courtesy charge was replaced with “you-form”.
– There was some feedback on that as well, but I think most people understood that when we sat for so long and talked, it would have ruined the flow of the personal talk we had if I titled him correctly every time. I tried to avoid that mistake as much as I could, but it slipped away. What happened was that I became very eager. I felt like I was talking to a friend, and then it slipped out, Warholm tells Dagbladet.
– What did the critics say?
– Someone said: “You can not do that.” But I knew that. I was just so eager for the good conversation.
Praise the king
The 24-year-old from Ulsteinvik does not hide that he was nervous before the royal meeting.
– It’s not often I get nervous, but when it comes to meeting King Harald himself, I was. He is an icon and one I look up to very much. It is one of the few times I have become very nervous about such a social setting, says Sunnmøringen.
– There I must praise the king, who set a very informal and nice tone. That was important. He disarmed the situation and the nervousness in a brilliant way.
– Will there be another meeting?
– I hope so, but nothing has been nailed down. I absolutely hope so.
- You can see Warholm’s reaction to the meeting with King Harald and the feedback he received in the video above.
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In international athletics, it is Warholm who is fighting for the throne after Usain Bolt as the athletics’ clear No. 1.
Best season
After the World Cup gold in London, he has pushed down his record from 48.22 in 2017 to 46.87 today, with, among other things, another World Cup gold, European Championship gold and countless records on the purchase.
– It is my best year in terms of performance. It is indisputable, I think, says Warholm to Dagbladet.
– You would have won Olympic gold this summer if it were?
– Haha, we never know with Rai and Samba. It’s impossible to say, but I was obviously at a good level and got a lot out of a difficult season. It could not go so much better, except for a world record.
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The monster race of 46.87 in an unfavorable headwind in Stockholm on 23 August was the best in 2020 – and was the second fastest time in world history in the 400 meter hurdles.
Has even more aces up his sleeve
Warholm’s super race meant that he now also has the fastest double in the distance in world history – as the only one in the world who has run under 47 seconds twice.
Sunnmøringen also became historic by virtue of running the fastest combination of 400 meters hurdles and 400 meters flat on the same day, which the 24-year-old achieved in Stockholm.
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Karsten Warholm has – once again – taken new quantum leaps in the right direction. It is exceptional for a meritorious runner who won World Cup gold in the 400 meter hurdles already in 2017.
– Do you have even more to go on in the coming seasons?
– Leif Olav has a mantra: When you have used up all means, you have reached your maximum level. But I do not think we have used up all the instruments, and I think we have more to go on, says the 24-year-old from Ulsteinvik.
– We can always get better at things, even if progress gets harder and harder the better you get. We can still extract a few hundredths. I learn a lot from Leif.
Samba’s bitter message to Warholm
– Can you teach him something too?
– Yes, the first thing I learned Leif was to use a smartphone. I gave him a smartphone after the Olympics in Rio. Then it took two years and then the phone was on. I gave him some new jeans the other day, his first not from the last millennium. So it goes both ways, Warholm says humorously.
– Exceptional
1.5 seconds improvement on such an explosive exercise from the season The Ulsteinvik boy won his first World Cup gold is a very rare commodity.
– He has improved for the fifth year in a row. It is quite exceptional and rare, says Alnes to Dagbladet.
– How did you manage it?
– I think it’s because you have managed to keep your eyes on the ball and prioritize the right things. It is getting harder and harder to take these steps. When you achieve success, temptations come in all shapes and sizes, he says and elaborates:
Warholm’s corona advantage amazes
– As long as the evening prayer is about asking for strength for development, we are where we should be. If the evening prayer helps to tell how good you are, then the development stops.
– What is it that Karsten is even better at this year than last year?
– Karsten stands the distance even better. His capacity has increased significantly. He has also increased the maximum speed. It’s a pretty unusual combination. One quality often comes at the expense of the other. A lift in both areas means he is able to run even faster and even faster even further. It’s about the choices we’ve made; we have moved boundaries and the performance line, Alnes concludes.
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