Karsten Warholm: "I'm world's biggest hypocrite - now I have unfair advantage" - Mirror Online

The 400m hurdles world record holder railed against shoe technology at the last Olympics but his spikes, made with Puma, are set to offer him an unfair edge over rivals

Karsten Warholm throws his hands in the air and admits: “I’m the biggest hypocrite in the world.”

Three years ago the 400m hurdles world record holder raged against the advance of shoe technology after winning Olympic gold, describing the Nike spikes worn by rival competitors as “bull****.”

But now the Norwegian has designed his own super shoe with Puma, he accepts some opponents might not be happy because it gives him an edge this summer.

Warholm makes his first outing of the season over the 400m hurdles at Friday night's Oslo Diamond League after opening up with a low-key 300m last week. And the 28-year-old is unequivocal that bettering his own record of 45.94 is within reach in the coming months.

“I’m 100 per cent sure I have the advantage now,” he says. “We’ve put a lot of effort into it and had great cooperation with Puma doing it. Is it fair? That’s another question because if I have an advantage it’s not fair.”

So what makes this spike special compared to his rivals’? Its loud orange colour scheme is somehow among the least noticeable elements. On the heel the simple message of #BS is attached, a nod to his comments in Tokyo.

But it is the ridged sole, which looks unlike anything produced before, that has Warholm most excited and rivals, to put it kindly, intrigued. The theory is that with each stride he will be propelled forward.

“The ridges, the wavy shape - the idea with it is if you compress the foam, which you will do unless you can’t get any energy return, it will send you in the right direction,” he says.

“When you land, you want it to compress and you want your calf to move over the centre of gravity and then release. The ridges are helping that movement.”

Yet Warholm knows, regardless of any tech advantage, he must be in top shape come August to beat US star and silver medalist in Tokyo Rai Benjamin, while Brazil’s Alison dos Santos has shown good early season form and is on the Oslo start list.

Warholm’s Tokyo performance was immediately described at the time by sprint legend Michael Johnson as one of the Olympics’ most iconic track moments.

And reflecting on it now, Warholm says: “It was not about breaking the world record, it was about winning the Olympic gold medal. But to win that medal I had to break the world record.

“I don’t think that was my focus and I don’t think it was Rai Benjamin’s focus. But I think it was about trying to get the medal.

“If I'm not going to fight for the gold, I don't want to fight. It turned out to be a fantastic race, one for the history books. That’s probably how world records are broken. It’s the perfect day, with the perfect opponents and perfect equipment.”

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