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Among the 100-metre exhibition races, this one certainly attracts attention: pole vault king Armand Duplantis faces 400-metre hurdles master Karsten Warholm on Wednesday in Zurich.
The two athletics stars will face off at the Letzigrund stadium ahead of Thursday’s Diamond League meeting to culminate in some banter on the training ground that escalated into a final sprint.
Norwegian Warholm is the reigning 400m hurdles world record holder, Olympic gold and silver medallist and three-time world champion.
American-born Swede Duplantis is the new double Olympic champion and has broken the pole vault world record an incredible 10 times, most recently at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia last week.
Duplantis has long insisted that one of his main strengths in show jumping is his speed around the track, even though it is only 40 metres long.
He has a best time of 10.57 seconds in the 100m, helped by the wind and behind schedule in 2018.
Warholm, known for his aggressive starts over hurdles, set a personal best time of 10.49 seconds in 2017.
The rivalry began after a joint training session between Warholm and Duplantis ahead of last year’s Diamond League in Monaco.
“He said I looked fast, and I said, ‘Let’s go for a run,'” Duplantis said.
Warholm accepted the challenge after Duplantis said he could win. “With my ego and the high opinion I have of myself, I had to accept,” the Norwegian explained.
“My expectations are to win,” Duplantis said of the matchup.
“I’m just trying to get to that line before him, that’s the only thing that matters.
“I think he probably underestimates my speed in general.”
Duplantis added: “I won the Olympics this year and he finished second!”
Warholm, who set a world record of 45.94 seconds in winning gold at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics, had to settle for silver behind American Rai Benjamin in Paris last month.
And he has already admitted that “it would be more embarrassing for me if you beat me than for you if I beat you.”
– Team Mondo or not? –
Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, who will race in Zurich against a strong American quintet including Fred Kerley, said he would “definitely watch that race, it looks interesting to watch”.
But Tebogo said he had not yet determined which athlete to support.
“We told the 100m runners that we wanted to be side by side (to cheer them on) – the Mondo team on one side and the other team on the other side so we could cheer on our compatriots,” he said.
“I’m Team Mondo, of course! But Warholm is also going to be a tough challenge, I’ll decide when I land in Zurich.”
Warholm admitted that track racing had its advantages.
“I think my block starts and top speed will be my biggest assets when I meet Mondo,” he said.
Duplantis added: “Karsten is a killer. He’s a crazy competitor and he shows up when he needs to.
“I think there’s definitely a possibility I can get to Warholm in the first 50 meters,” he said, referring to his track speed.
“I definitely do more sprint training than people think and I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people.
“I am capable of running a very competitive race. I would never have challenged Warholm in a race if I had not thought I could win.”
Duplantis added: “A lot of people will probably think that I’m not as comfortable in the boulders as Warholm, which is a fair point, I guess, but I do do a little bit of bouldering from time to time.”
Warholm, however, did not dismiss his opponent.
“Mondo’s strong points will be his acceleration, especially in the first 40-50 meters,” he said.
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