On Saturday, Warholm returned to the athletic field with 49.34 and a win in qualifying heat after a 41-day break from competition following an injury in the hoards.

From track five in the hot night of the third and final semi-final to Monday Norway time, Warholm went into 48.00 without coming close to bringing out his best. Warholm calmed down sharply on the run-up side.

A happy and contented 26-year-old from Sunnmøre met the press just minutes after the finish. Warholm had set aside two minutes to write the press from Norway.

– It’s going well. I think you saw that walking the last 100 meters was very tiring. How much is impossible to say? We’re approaching one more second. It’s hard to say.

– If we said that you look exactly like when you were at your best?

– Then I say thank you very much. That’s a compliment.

Relieved

Warholm was so relieved that he got the race exactly where he wanted it to be. He opened as usual great and early up front.

– I got the race I wanted. Glad to see that I’m getting a little back for the old Warholm. Today I decided to work hard. It went at my old opening pace, and it really was the biggest acid test of whether my thighs could hold it. I don’t know anything about the injury, and it’s very, very good. It’s been a long time since that, it’s been a few weeks since the last.

Right now, time doesn’t matter.

– If I won today’s heat, the time could easily be 60 blanks. No problem, but nice to see that I can browse to 48 blanks. I took my first World Cup gold at 48.3.

He did it at the London Olympics in 2017. Warholm also took gold at the Qatar World Cup in 2019. Evening to Wednesday, he has a chance to take third place in rap.

Strong competitor

Rai Benjamin of the United States and Alison dos Santos of Brazil are expected to be Warholm’s biggest challengers in the final.

Benjamin won the first semifinal with 48.46, while dos Santos snatched victory in the second semifinal with 47.85.

Neither Benjamin nor dos Santos ran with their foot on the gas pedal all the way.

Alison dos Santos had the best year in the world with 46.80. It was set during the Diamond League tournament in Stockholm earlier this summer.