SPORT – We knew he was fast with a pole in hand, but the Swede Armand Duplantis proved on Wednesday September 4 in Zurich that he also knew how to sprint by beating the Norwegian Karsten Warholm, world record holder in the 400m hurdles, in the 100m, an improbable challenge that the two Scandinavian stars had set themselves last year.
Paris Olympics 2024: Armand Duplantis will face another world record holder… but in the 100m
Organised on Wednesday evening by their joint sponsors, on the eve of the Diamond League meeting in the Swiss city, the confrontation between the 24-year-old pole vaulter and the 28-year-old hurdler excited the fans who had fun predicting the name of the winner of this duel.
After an hour and a half of sometimes sluggish entertainment, between breakdancing and BMX demonstrations, the two athletes finally entered the track, in boxing-style bathrobes, in front of some 2,000 spectators.
After a great start, Duplantis took the lead from the first meters and Warholm was unable to catch him. In the end, he crossed the line in 10 sec 37, improving by two tenths his personal best over the distance set in 2018. He was one tenth ahead (10’47) of Warholm.
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Savoring his lead, Duplantis even allowed himself to tease his rival by turning around before crossing the finish line. “I’m still really happy”Duplantis rejoiced immediately afterwards. As a token, he offered Warholm a Swedish jersey that the Norwegian will have to wear on Thursday when he runs the 400m hurdles.
“That really makes me happy.”he joked, handing the blue and yellow jumpsuit, the colours of Sweden, to a dejected Karsten Warholm. “He came out of the starting blocks so fast, well done man”reacted Warholm.
The challenge was launched in 2023 at the Monaco meeting, when Duplantis told Warholm that he thought he could beat him over 100m and offered to race him. “I would love to”Warholm had replied before shaking the hand of his future opponent.
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