Karsten Warholm shaved 0.76 seconds off of his own world record time which he set last month; the USA's Rai Benjamin and Brazil's Alison dos Santos came in second and third; Warholm: "I am asked about the perfect race. I said it didn't exist but this is the closest I've ever come"
Tuesday 3 August 2021 10:13, UK
Norway's Karsten Warholm had to utterly destroy the world record to hold off American Rai Benjamin and take gold in the men's 400m hurdles.
Last month, Warholm broke Kevin Young's 29-year world mark with a time of 46.70 seconds but he blew his own record away with an astonishing 45.94 run. Benjamin pushed him all the way to take silver in 46.17, also half a second inside the old record.
Brazilian Alison dos Santos, 21, took bronze in 46.72, also inside Young's previous best, as six of the first seven finishers set national or continental records.
"You know the cliche that it hasn't sunk in yet? I don't think it has, but I feel ecstatic," Warholm said.
"I can't believe the time, it's so fast. A lot of the time I am asked about the perfect race. I said it didn't exist but this is the closest I've ever come.
"I told myself going into the race, remember all the work you have put in. It was the only thing missing from my (medal) collection. I can't describe how important this is for me. This is what I do morning until night, it's huge."
The new carbon-technology shoes may be contributing to the rash of blazing times being seen in Tokyo but even if they had been running barefoot, the two great rivals would have put on a show to remember.
Double world champion Warholm runs every race as if he is trying to break the world record and on home soil in Oslo last month he finally got Young's 1992 Barcelona Olympics mark off the books - and seemingly a weight off his shoulders.
With Benjamin posting 46.83 in the US trials, the record was widely expected to be broken in Tokyo, but nobody could have predicted the massive bites both men took.
In perfect conditions, the two 25-year-olds hurdled beautifully and were side-by-side coming into the final straight, only for Warholm to forge clear.
When he saw the astonishing time, Warholm looked to be in shock. He ripped his vest apart and beat his chest in celebration before sinking to his knees.
Benjamin would have been equally amazed with his time, all the more so for it being only good enough for second place.
