Norwegian hurdles star Karsten Warholm’s longtime coach, Leif Olav Alnes, has offered rare and revealing insights into the journey that took Warholm from a multi-event teenager to the fastest 400m hurdler in history.
The partnership began after Warholm’s mother reached out to Norway’s athletics federation as her son prepared to leave his hometown in search of better training opportunities. A federation official didn’t hesitate, he pointed her to Alnes.
“If you’re going to listen to me once in your life, this is the time,” the official told the coach.
Alnes insisted on meeting the family in person. “If I’m going to spend the time I know is needed to succeed, I have to want to do it with that person,” he said.
Focus on 400m
At the time, Karsten Warholm was still competing in decathlon and dreaming of the Rio Olympics. Alnes quickly suggested switching focus to the 400m hurdles. He believed in Warholm’s long stride, strong 400m base, and one-leg hurdling ability were a perfect fit.
Warholm’s PB was 51.09. When he asked what time he could eventually run, Alnes told him 48.50. Warholm didn’t speak to him for the rest of the evening, thinking it was a ridiculous number. By that summer, he ran 48.49 in Rio.
Five years later in Tokyo, Warholm produced a moment that redefined the event. He smashed the world record with a time of 45.94 seconds. Alnes believes that performance was the result of a perfect storm. An extra year of training after the Olympics were postponed, intense competition from rivals like Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos, and near-perfect conditions.
“Everyone in that final ran either a personal best or national record,” Alnes recalled. “We could blame the track, but then we’d see it in every event. That day was just special.”
He made a point to highlight Benjamin’s 46.17 run as equally historic. “That was a performance for the history books too. He just happened to be in the wrong race.”
This season, Warholm is fully healthy again. While expectations are high, Alnes is careful not to make bold declarations. “Well done is so much better than well said,” he noted. “It’s easy to claim what you’ll do, it’s harder to do it.”
Lief On Rivalry
The 400m hurdles has grown into one of the most competitive and respected events in track and field, with a trio of global stars now pushing each other to the edge. Alnes believes their respectful rivalry is driving the event forward. “You don’t need to be disrespectful. These guys all know what it takes. There’s huge respect because of how much work they each put in.”
Technically, not much has changed. The focus remains on strengthening Warholm’s final 100 meters, “the man killer,” as Alnes calls it. Warholm’s aggressive first 300m once viewed as a risk, is now the gold standard.
“People used to say he was starting too fast. I disagreed, he was too slow yet!” Alnes smiled. “Now everyone goes out hard. That’s what moved the performance level.”
