The showdown between the 24-year-old pole vaulter and the 28-year-old hurdler in a showdown between the 24-year-old pole vaulter and the 28-year-old hurdler in a competition organized by co-sponsors on Wednesday night on the eve of the Diamond League competition in the Swiss city had fans excited to predict the winner. name.
After an hour and a half of slow entertainment between breakdancing and BMX performances, the two athletes finally took to the track in boxing-style bathrobes in front of about 2,000 spectators.
After a good start, Duplantis took the lead in the first meter and Warholm was unable to catch up.
In the end, he crossed the finish line in 10.37 seconds, two-tenths better than his personal best time set in 2018.
Duplantis relished his lead and even turned to tease his rivals before crossing the finish line.
“I’m still super happy”Afterward, Duplantis was elated. As a souvenir, he gave Warholm a Swedish jersey, which the Norwegian must wear when he competes in the 400m hurdles on Thursday.
“That’s really nice.””, he said, handing the blue and yellow suit, the colors of Sweden, to the disgruntled Carsten Warholm.
“Good job, man.”
“Well done to him for getting out of the starting blocks so quickly, man.”Warholm reaction.
The challenge was launched at the 2023 Monaco meeting when Duplantis told Warholm that he thought he had the ability to beat him over 100m and offered to compete. “I would love to””, Warholm replied before shaking hands with his future rival.
On paper, Warholm, who is used to starting, appears to have the advantage, especially since he had a slightly faster pregame record than Duplantis (10.49 in 2017 compared to 10.57 in 2018).
But the Swede, who is in top form after winning his second Olympic title and setting a new world record for a tenth time at the end of August (6.26m), is taking the challenge seriously, training with American bronze medalist Fred Kerley .
On Thursday, both athletes continued their respective events.
