Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400m hurdles Karsten Warholm won a third world title in the discipline on Wednesday in Budapest in 46 sec 89. After his coronations in 2017 and 2019, Warholm (27) won ahead of the British Virgin Islands athlete Kyron McMaster (47.34), US Olympic vice-champion Rai Benjamin taking bronze (47.56). “I knew I would have to fight, that’s what we do, the Vikings,” said the winner at the stadium microphone.
Arrived short of form at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene (Oregon, United States), for an anonymous 7th place, Warholm took a resounding revenge in Budapest to win a third title, which no one had managed to do in this discipline. , now one of the most popular in athletics. Warholm and Benjamin (in world silver in 2019 and 2022) had a titanic fight at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where the Norwegian had set a new unthinkable world record (45.94).
While they both clocked very fast times again this season (46.51 for the Norwegian, 46.62 for the American), the level of the final in Budapest turned out to be lower than expected. The unknown McMaster (26) was thus invited to the podium while the Brazilian world champion Alison Dos Santos, slowed down at the start of the season by an injury, had to settle for 5th place.