Wilfried Happio, European vice-champion and 4th at the 2022 Worlds, as well as Ludvy Vaillant, failed to qualify for the 400m hurdles final of the World Athletics Championships on Monday in Budapest. Vaillant took 3rd place in the second of the three semi-finals in 48”48, insufficient time to be drafted. Happio completely missed his race and took 7th place in the third half in 48”83.
It’s a serious setback for Happio (24), after a brilliant 2022 season where he came close to the world podium. “It’s a big disappointment, I had the tools to make a good final, but sometimes the body and the spirit are not in osmosis, he explained. I got tangled up a bit, I got lost in my running pattern. It’s a big lesson for the future and a good page to arrive with more experience next year.
The three favorites, the Norwegian Karsten Warholm, the American Rai Benjamin and the Brazilian Alison Dos Santos, easily qualified for the final scheduled for Wednesday, where their clash promises to be electric. The Dutch Femke Bol has made her return to competition, two days after her cruel fall before the arrival of the mixed 4x400m relay which had cost her team a medal. A big favorite in the 400m hurdles, she crossed the heats without a hitch with the best time (53”39).