– I hate it. I really hate it. “It pissed me off and pissed me off and all that,” Warholm told NRK after another loss in the 400-meter hurdles.

Because it was Rai Benjamin who won the Diamond League final with a time of 46.39. Now it is a new record in the Diamond League. At the same time, Warholm also lost the best time of the year in the world.

No less important, this defeat was the second in a row after the WC gold medal in Budapest.

The Norwegian was the best in the early stages, but towards the final hurdle Benjamin started to catch the Norwegian. Warholm had to admit afterwards that it was not “fat” to lose the world player of the year to his American rival.

Warhom was pleased with a time of 46.53. But he could only surmise how much he hated being beaten.

– I came here for one thing, and that is to win. It’s been a long journey before the season arrives. I have calmed myself down as much as I can. The timing was better than I expected. At the same time, Rai ran beyond his abilities. Warholm said.

– Burnt

– I think what hurts most is that he lost the best of the year in the world, said NRK commentator Jann Post after the race.

Expert commentator Vebjørn Rodal noticed how Warholm stopped in the last 20 meters.

But Post now believes this defeat could be a wake-up call for the Norwegian, who has dominated for several years.

– He suffered two losses at the end of the season. This could provide motivation for winter training, said NRK commentator Jann Post after the race.

Warholm noted that he just needed to go home and train to come back stronger.

– I don’t have many complaints about the race itself. All I want is to win. If I have to run 44, 45, 46 or 47… It doesn’t matter, I have to run faster. That’s what bothers me, Warholm said.

Benjamin’s timing was so powerful that Warholm had only run this fast before. That’s when he set a world record in the 2021 Olympic final.

Warholm’s 14 hundredth behind Benjamin also means that there is a prize money of 12,000 dollars instead of 30,000 dollars for the Norwegian. Bejmanin is now taking the money to California.

Benjamin stated after the win to NRK that he didn’t think too much about the fact that he had finally defeated Warholm.

– I have to win when it really matters. “It’s in the WC and the Olympics,” Benjamin told NRK after the win over his fiercest rival.

Benjamin is still short of gold in the championships.

– It feels good to end the season with a win, said Benjamin.

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On the eve of the Diamond League final race in Eugene, he “hid” from the competition and warmed up on a separate track. There he could comfortably warm up in the shade and in peace to the competitors.

In his own race, he met all his rivals such as dos Santos, Benjamin and McMaster. Only at the championships have all these athletes stood on the same starting line in recent years. The other runners were quite far behind the two leading runners at the finish line.

Lost last time

Warholm surprisingly lost to Kyron McMaster during the Diamond League event in Zurich two weeks ago. Then he was rushed to the ground by the World Cup silver medalist.

Ahead of the race in Eugene, he admitted that defeat in Zurich was not his proudest moment.

Despite this loss and the loss in Eugene, Warholm had a very strong season, ending with a WC gold medal in Budapest.

Before his 46.53 race in Eugene earlier this year, he had run four races under 47 seconds. His best time of the season was achieved in Monaco on July 21 with a time of 46.51.

But apart from that he has run the following races under 47 seconds:

• 46.52 – Bislett Games June 15
• 46.76 – NM at Jesseim – July 6
• 46.89 – WC in Budapest – 23 August.