Karsten Warholm: ‘I’m the world’s biggest hypocrite

The 400m hurdles Olympic champion once criticised a rival over their footwear but has changed his mind before defending his title

Karsten Warholm doesn’t hold anything back. On the track. Off the track. It’s the same. Full send. No filters. Always all in. He’s the guy who obliterated the 400m hurdles world record by nearly a second at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, fending off Rai Benjamin in a race regarded as one of the greatest in history. Minutes later, he called out Benjamin’s Nike super spikes as “bullshit’, because he believed their foam acted like a trampoline and gave his great rival an unfair advantage.

For the next two years, the 28-year-old Norwegian continued to double down by wearing spikes with “bullshit” written on them. But on a shiny day in Paris, where he will defend his Olympic title this summer, Warholm has a confession. He has changed his mind.