Fresh off an emotional victory on home soil in Oslo, Olympic champion, Karsten Warholm is now setting his sights on the next challenge the ,Stockholm Diamond League scheduled on Sunday, June 15.
Speaking during the pre-meet press conference, the Norwegian hurdler reflected on the magnitude of his win in front of a home crowd and the difficulty of coming down from the adrenaline rush.
“Yeah, it’s a good question. I think especially given that it happened in Oslo. It was extra special,” Warholm said. “It was very important for me to have a win that night. Of course, I was struggling a bit to go to sleep that night, it was a lot of adrenaline.”
In Oslo, Warholm, delivered a jaw-dropping performance on home soil, setting a world record in the rarely-run 300m hurdles with a time of 32.67 seconds. He edged out his fierce rivals Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos who came second and third respectively.
Despite the emotional high, Warholm emphasized that he quickly refocused on the upcoming race in Stockholm.
“I feel like I’ve landed now. Mentally, I knew that I was coming to Stockholm and I wanted to race here as well. I want to do a good 400 meter hurdles,” he said.
Acknowledging the tight turnaround after racing just days earlier, Warholm noted that he isn’t alone in that situation.
“We had a race on Thursday, but the good thing is, Alison was there, I was there. Everybody had a race on Thursday,” he said, referencing fellow 400m hurdles star Alison dos Santos. “So we are all on equal terms tomorrow. I think it can be a fun one.”
Karsten Warholm will be looking to maintain his momentum and build up for his fourth World championship title later. However a big task is ahead. The Norwegian champion will face off Olympic champion Benjamin Rai from United States.
Also in the mix, comes 2022 champion, Brazilian Star Alison Dos Santos. Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke, who finished second behind dos Santos in Kingston with a time of 48.20 seconds is also lined up. Another key rival is Ezekiel Nathaniel from Nigeria, who has posted a season-best of 47.86 seconds and shown steady progress this year.