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400m hurdles Olympic champion Carsten Warholm was one of three athletes to set a world record at the last Olympics.
If two of the three records are later broken, Warholm’s record set in Tokyo will stand at least until the Paris Olympics.
At 28, Warholm has achieved everything possible in the 400m hurdles. Seven years ago, he became world champion for the first time. Today, Warholm is a three-time European and world champion, and of course, an Olympic champion and world record holder.
He went unbeaten for three straight seasons from 2019 to 2021, but then other medalists in the legendary Olympic final, Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos, proved that it is possible to beat Warholm even at his best.
“My job is to make it as difficult as possible for my opponent to beat me. But I also know that I have a lot of opponents who really, really want to beat me. I’ve lost before, so I know I’m not invincible. “But my job is to make sure it’s difficult to beat me,” Warholm said a week before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Warholm said that as the defending champion, he was under much less pressure than his opponent in the Olympic final. This does not mean that the Norwegian’s desire to win the Olympic gold medal is no less than three years ago.
“Of course I feel some pressure, but at the same time I have this Olympic gold medal. Many great athletes have never won an Olympic gold medal because it is so difficult. I am lucky to have it in my collection. The pressure of winning it does not interfere anymore,” he revealed in Norwegian.
“I would be happy if I won another title, but others will feel the pressure. Now they have the chance to win their first title and they feel the pressure. It doesn’t put too much pressure on me.”
Warholm took the 400m hurdles to a new level, being the first and so far only man to break the 46-second barrier. Benjamin and Dos Santos both came very close to the line. A new record may be needed to win the gold medal in Paris.
“I think you have to be very careful when talking about world records because you never know. It may happen, it may not happen. And most of the time it doesn’t happen. That’s why we rarely see world records broken at major championships. It’s difficult, but of course I always try my best and if the record is broken, of course I’ll accept it.”
The men’s 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics are scheduled to take place from 5 to 9 August.
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