Just days after a rousing victory in front of his home crowd in Oslo, Karsten Warholm found himself on the receiving end of defeat in Stockholm and he says the toll of back-to-back Diamond League races played a major role.
“It cost more than I thought it would, honestly,” Warholm said after finishing third in the men’s 400m hurdles. “Today wasn’t the best. The other two guys did amazing.”
Warholm, who had surged to victory in front of a roaring Bislett Stadium crowd, admitted that the emotional high of racing at home left him depleted heading into Sunday’s race. On last Thursday, Karsten Warholm dominated in the rare 300m hurdles setting a world with a time of 32.67 seconds.
He shattered his own 33.05sec set in the opening meet on the circuit in Xiamen, China. Benjamin Rai of USA came in second position with personal best- 33.32 as Brazilian Star Alisson Dos Santos finished third.
“I guess it builds up without you realizing… and then you crash down a little bit,” he said. “It was just not enough time to climb up again.”
Despite the result, the Norwegian didn’t look for excuses. Instead, he gave full credit to his competitors especially Benjamin, who turned the tables after Warholm’s hard-fought win on Thursday. Benjamin reaffirmed his dominance by storming to a meeting record and world-leading time of 46.54 seconds
“You can’t just travel around and do a so-and-so performance,” he said. “You need to bring your A-game every time. These guys step up and today, I didn’t. And then you get punished. That’s how it is.”
Warholm now plans to skip the upcoming Diamond League meets in Paris and Eugene, opting instead for a short training block to recharge ahead of August competitions.
“I’ll be going into training for a bit,” he noted. “Let’s see what happens before August.”
Paris hosts the eighth edition of Diamond League on Wednesday the 20th of June 2025 at the Stade Charléty stadium. More thrilling action awaits.
