– Håvard is a rising star in the 400 meter sky, and has a future ahead of him. He could be proud of his efforts in his first senior WC, said NRK expert commentator Vebjørn Rodal after 6th place in the final was a fact.

Moelv’s Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen gave it his all, and so placed sixth. He was 71 hundredths away from the bronze place.

– I’m satisfied with my first WC semifinal. It’s huge. A championship that exceeded all expectations. I have to look around when I enter the stadium today

– Now I bring home a lot of experience to Moelv. You learn a lot about preparation, both mental and physical when there are three races in WC. The target for next year is to drop to 43 seconds, said Bentdal Ingvaldsen with a smile when interviewed by NRK after the race.

Beat the world record holder

In sixth place and time, he beat world record holder Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa, who finished last.

Ingvaldsen moved up from 7th to 6th place shortly after the race, after one of the other athletes was disqualified. “»

Antonio Watson of Jamaica won in 44.22. . This is only 17 hundredths faster than the trial run by Ingvaldsen Bentdal at the start of the week. Ingvaldsen ran to the final in a time of 45.08, making him the fifth fastest 400 meters race ever.

– Smart race

Mrs. Mari Ann Bentdal watched the race from the stands:

– He should open a bit more quietly than in the semifinals and that’s wise. This is a race that goes well. He must be happy about this World Cup. He had two tough races behind him in WC, and he definitely felt it in his body. He entered this world championship with a press of 44.86. In the hot trials, she pressed on and reached 44.39, which is almost a European record, said Mari Ann Bentdal in an interview with NRK.

Bentdal Ingvaldsen’s trial was only two hundred seconds behind from the time contested for bronze in the final.

The 400 meters is the ninth fastest in the world

The race in the trials is the ninth fastest 400 meters race in the world, so far in 2023.

– He felt good during the warm-up, and tonight it is he who will last three races in a short time, said Bentdal in an interview with NRK in the stands, 17 minutes before the start of the final.

– He’s in the WC final, so in that sense it’s gold no matter how it turns out, said Bentdal.

Pastor Torstein Ingvaldsen and his sister Johanne sat in the stands and watched their son run in the 400 meters final, becoming the first Norwegian to achieve the feat in WC.

– It’s really real and it hurts. I perfectly understand that I am sitting here and I will see this, dad said.