By K. P. Mohan
The day belonged to Karsten Warholm. The 25-year-old Norwegian hurdler smashed his own world record while winning the 400m hurdles gold in the Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.
Since breaking American Kevin Young’s 29-year-old record of 46.78s in Oslo on July 1, the question was whether Warholm would be able to better it in the Olympic Games. He did that to write himself into the record books in the most dramatic fashion possible in a fiercely contested race. It was an unbelievable 45.94s.
Warholm’s 46.70s in Oslo was itself described as an incredible one 33 days ago. There were no words to describe this one on another hot, humid day in Tokyo.
In what was expected to be a clash of the titans American Rai Benjamin ran him close into the finishing straight but could not catch up with the Norwegian while clocking the history’s second fastest time of 46.17s.
Benjamin’s was an Area record and so was Brazilian Alison Dos Santos’s 46.72s for the bronze. Till last month these would have bettered the world record.
Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, till today the world’s fourth fastest 400m hurdler could not match the top three or even the fourth (Ivory Coast’s KyronMcMaster who timed a national record of 47.08s) as he finished fifth in a season best 47.12s.
“It’s so crazy,” Warholm said. “This is by far the biggest moment of my life.” The Norwegian understandably was overjoyed as he one look at the trackside timer showed that he had obliterated the world record.
“I don’t think Usain Bolt’s 9.5 was better than this,” said Benjamin referring to Jamaican Bolts’ world record 9.58s for the 100m set in the World championships in 2009.
Historians and athletics experts found very few instances to match such a record that lopped off 0.76s of a previous world record.
Warholm’s superlative performance in the morning session overshadowed a record double by Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah in the evening session. By winning the women’s 200m Thomspon-Herah completed a unique double of winning the sprint double in two successive Olympics. She had won the 100m in a world lead and national record of 10.61s on the second day of athletics action.
Christine Mboma of Namibia, who was not eligible to compete in the 400m as per World Athletics (WA) regulations, proved the surprise packet in the women’s 200m by coming second to Thompson-Herah in 21.81s a World Under-20 record. This was the first ever medal for a Namibian woman.
The highly fancied American Gabrielle Thomas was home in 21.87s for the bronze while veteran Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica finished fourth in 21.94s. The Bahamas’s Shaunae Miller-Uibo, defending 400m champion, trying for the 200-400 double here came in last.
Duplantis goes for world record
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis almost pulled off another world record towards the end of the night’s programme. After ensuring the gold at 6.02m in pole vault, he went for the world record of 6.19m and in his first attempt, cleared it with plenty to spare but on the way down brushed the bar with his chest thus spoiling the excitement of a sparse gathering of officials and athletes in the stands and around.
Duplantis, making his Olympic debut, tried two more times to better his own world record of 6.18m, set indoors in Glasgow last year, but it was not to be a heady mix of two world records in one day.
American Christopher Nilsen had a personal best 5.97m for the silver while Brazilian Thiago Braz took the bronze in a season best 5.87m.
Philippines’s E.J. Obiena was overall joint 11th with 5.70m, failing to clear 5.80m. The Filipino, based in Italy had posted a personal best of 5.87m in June this year.
Two-time world champion Sam Kendricks of the US was absent, down with Covid-19 after arriving in Tokyo and being isolated. Former world record holder Arnaud Lavillenie of France who had suffered an injury in the final run-up to the Games, ended up eighth with 5.70m and stood clapping each time Duplantis went for his world record height, finally hugging him as he finished.
Mihambo takes gold on last jump
Germany’s Malaika Mihambo , world champion in 2019, added the Olympic gold to her collection in a last-gasp final jump in the long jump contest in which she was lying third behind veteran American Brittney Reese and Nigerian Ese Brume till then.
Reese and Brume were tied at 6.97m with the American producing a clutch second best jump of 6.95m on her fifth attempt to break the tie.
Mihambo rose to the challenge on her final jump was overjoyed as she touched seven metres and waited anxiously on the side-lines as Brume and Reese completed their last jumps. The German was in tears in the end overwhelmed with emotion. It was similar end to the men’s long jump competition where Greek Tentoglou clinched the gold with a last round effort of 8.41 to tie and take the title on a countback from Cuban Echevarria.
Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland won her third consecutive Olympic title in women’s hammer throw, recording a season best 78.48m in the final.
Chinese Wang Zheng took the silver in 77.03m to add to her World championships bronze won in Doha two years ago and the silver in 2017. The 33-year-old Chinese came up with her best on her last throw.
In the women’s 800m, 19-year-old American Athing Mu was unstoppable as she posted a national record in winning the first title in this event for her country. Mu had broken through only this season with a series of excellent timings including 1:56.07 in winning the US Olympic trials. She bettered that mark today with a 1:55.21 that left the rest behind.
Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson (national record 1:55.88) and American Raevyn Rogers (personal best 1:56.81) were followed Athing for silver and bronze. Chinese Wang Chunyu clocked a personal best 1:57.00 for the fifth place.
Bahrain’s Dawit Fikadu fell in the heats of the men’s 5000m to finish overall 26th but was given a place in the final where his team-mate Birhanu Balew (13:39.42) would also line-up having qualified in fifth place in the first heat.
Qatari Femi Ogunode (20.34s) and Chinese Xie Zhenye (20.45s) were eliminated in the men’s 200m semifinals. Also out of the 200m was Japanese Abdul Hakim Sani Brown and Shota Iizuka.
For India it proved a disappointing day as woman javelin thrower Annu Rani (54.04m) and shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (19.99m) went out in the qualification rounds.
Joining Toor on the side-lines was Bahrain’s Abdelrahman Mahmoud (20.14m).
