Three-time world 400n hurdles champion Karsten Warholm has revealed that he received sprinting advice from legendary Usain Bolt but seems not to have used it during his exhibition race with Olympic pole vault champion Armand (Mondo) Duplantis.
Warholm lost the 100m race to Mondo, with the Swede crossing the finish line in 10.37 seconds to his 10.47 seconds, to earn the bragging rights after the two had set up the showdown to prove who is a better at sprinting.
The Norwegian later said that he had been in contact with the greatest sprinter of all time during his preparations and he gave him tips which seems not to have come in handy in the race.
“I actually sent my block starts videos to Usain Bolt,” Warholm revealed, as quoted by World Athletics. “He said, ‘You shouldn’t walk out the blocks. You should push’.”
As it turned out, Warholm did not get out of the blocks quickly, failing to push in the home straight, and he paid the ultimate price as Mondo sprinted past him to claim victory.
“I did not want to lose obviously but one of us would have to lose and I think it would hurt just as much for Mondo as it would for me. It is a tough loss but it is also an event at a venue that I am extremely proud,” Warhom said in a separate interview with CITIUS Mag.
“It was really fun, especially in the beginning. It wasn’t that fun after crossing the finish line second, I’ll say that. But all the way building up to it, felt like something special and something new that I really enjoyed.”
Warholm was then asked if he would want a rematch to right his wrongs.
“If he [Mondo] wants a rematch, we will do it obviously but still it was a one-time thing that we discussed and if we do it again, we do it again,” he added.
The exhibition race took place at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich ahead of Thursday’s penultimate leg of the Diamond League and Mondo presented Warholm with a Sweden jersey that he will wear during his 400m hurdles event.
