PARIS — World 400 metres hurdles champion Karsten Warholm hedged his bets about the possibility of breaking his own record at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, but said new running spikes he has developed with his sponsor Puma were giving him confidence.
“When you’re at the starting line, if your focus is the world record I think it’s more difficult,” Warholm said in an interview with Reuters.
“I wouldn’t say no to a world record, but at the same time I know it’s not that easy.
“What I for sure know is that my shoe is a lot better than it was three years ago, and you have all these things that also give you confidence but at the same time there are no guarantees. That’s why we love sport, I guess,” he added.
Warholm visited Puma suppliers in Vietnam to test shoes and materials as part of his work on the new spikes, which were shown for the first time on Wednesday at an event in Paris.
Warholm said he used to be a critic of shoe technology, feeling early “supershoes” gave some an unfair advantage.
“When you train every day to be the best human, and you realise there is another X-factor coming into this, at least you want it to be as even a playing field as possible,” he said.
“I think it has evened out now, and a lot of good things are coming from it – a lot of brands are investing a lot more in running right now, and a lot of other brands are coming into the running world.”
Puma launched a new campaign on Wednesday featuring key Olympic athletes including Warholm, as it seeks to win more market share in the highly competitive running shoe market.
Chijindu Ujah, meanwhile, has been recalled to Britain’s 4x100m squad for the World Athletics Relays in May, 10 months after serving his ban for a doping violation which resulted in his team being stripped of their silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sprinter Ujah was banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for 22 months in October 2022, which was backdated from August 2021 to June 2023. However, the AIU had cleared Ujah of intentionally taking prohibited substances.
Britain were stripped of the Tokyo silver after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Ujah’s anti-doping rule violation, though former UK Athletics technical director Stephen Maguire had said he would be considered for selection again after his ban.
Ujah’s team mates Richard Kilty, Zharnel Hughes and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake also had their medals stripped, with Kilty saying they were left “devastated” since they had strictly followed the rules unlike Ujah.
All four sprinters were named in an eight-man 4x100m relay squad for the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas on May 4-5, giving Ujah another shot to redeem himself before the Olympic Games in Paris from July 26-Aug. 11.
“They have had their fair share of challenges in recent years,” said Darren Campbell, British Athletics’ head of sprints, hurdles and relays.
“But I have had my own discussions with each and every member of the squad and know they are motivated, committed and focused on working together to reach Paris.”
Now recognised as one of the world’s best in the 400m hurdles, Warholm would go on to win gold at the 2018 European Championships and would be crowned 2019 European Indoor champion at 400m.
With the weight of a nation on his shoulders, he once again won the World Championship in Doha before all attentions turned towards the Olympics.
Showing absolutely no signs of nerves, Warholm set a world record of 45.94.
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