Athletics: Karsten Warholm breaks 29-year-old 400 metres hurdles world record
Norway's Karsten Warholm has broken the long-standing record of Kevin Young in athletics. He ran 46.70 seconds to set a new men's 400 m hurdles record at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo. The two-time world champion, Warholm, finished ahead of Alison dos Santos (47.38) and Yasmani Copello (48.86). Notably, Young had achieved the mark in 46.78 seconds in 1992.
'This was a perfect moment', said Warholm on his record
"I knew that I had fast times in my body for a long time, but it's one thing to know you're in good shape and another to go out and perform," Warholm said after breaking the record. "This was just a perfect moment, everyone is talking about this world record that's been standing for many, many years - it's older than me actually."
The previous record was set four years before Warholm's birth
Warholm eclipsed the 1992 Olympic champion Young's mark of 46.78 seconds. Notably, Young had reached the landmark four years before the Norwegian was born. This had been the longest-standing record in men's track. Warholm raced to an early lead, having crossed the finishing line ahead of 2019 Pan American Games champion, Alison dos Santos, by less than a second.
400 m hurdles: Warholm broke the Norwegian record in 2016
In July 2016, Warholm broke the Norwegian national record (48.84 seconds) in the semi-final of the 400 m hurdles at the 2016 European Championships. Later on, he made it to the semi-finals in the 400 m hurdles at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Warholm attained this historic feat in 2019
Warholm ran the third-fastest time in the 400 m hurdles history in 2019. He had set a new European record of 46.92 seconds at Weltklasse Zurich. A year later, he clocked 46.87 seconds in the 400 m hurdles. With this, Warholm became the first athlete to cross the 47-second barrier twice. Young did so only once, when he set the world record in 1992.
Eilish McColgan scripts a new record
In the women's 5,000 m, Eilish McColgan broke Paula Radcliffe's 17-year-old British record. McColgan, who will compete at her third Olympic Games, clocked 14 minutes, 28.55 seconds, beating Radcliffe's previous mark of 14:29.11. Meanwhile, Ivorian sprinter Marie-Josee Ta Lou outclassed Britain's Daryll Neita in the 100 m with a season's-best time of 10.91. The former is also set to feature in the Tokyo Games.
A look at other notable performances
Elsewhere, two-time Olympic medallist Andre de Grasse won the men's 200 m in 20.09 seconds. In the women's 400 m hurdles, Femke Bol claimed her second back-to-back Diamond League win in a personal-best 53.33 seconds. Hellen Obiri, a silver medallist in the Rio 2016 Olympics, won the women's 5,000 m (14:26.38). World champion Malaika Mihambo won the women's long jump with 6.83 m.
