Ahead of Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Zurich, pole vault world champion Mondo Duplantis and the holder of the 400-meter hurdles world title, Karsten Warholm, agreed that they’d like to race each other and see who has the best all-out speed in a race with no barriers, the 100 meters.
During a playful press conference detailed on LetsRun.com, the two champions excitedly debated the likelihood of actually getting on the track to challenge each other, and made cases for how and why they’d best the other.
The 400-meter hurdles and the pole vault both require a boatload of speed, which Duplantis and Warholm each certainly have, as the world’s best in their respective events. However, neither athlete has run the 100-meter distance in several years, making it anyone’s game, technically speaking. Warholm’s 10.49 personal best was notched in 2017, and Duplantis ran his 10.57 PR (with a +2.1 wind) in 2018, as a highschool senior.
Beyond the friendly rivalry, both men are simply curious what they might be capable of over a straightaway, since they’re in top shape, but typically keep their training hyper-focused on their events.
Warholm said his main desire, if they were to indeed race, would be for it to happen when both of them feel they are able to do it well. “It’s not like woah, someone pulled his hamstring right before the Olympics. That is no good. So we need to find the right timing,” he said.
Then Duplantis prodded, saying that Warholm had blown him off a bit when the Swedish-American vaulting prodigy first suggested the idea. “Now he’s acting like it would be a great competition on the mic. But when I first suggested it to him, he was kind of like, ‘oh okay, you really think you can beat me?’” he said. “All right, whatever.”
Warholm claimed he was just trying to level the playing field, and wanted to make his rival nervous, but of course, he wouldn’t challenge Duplantis if he didn’t think he had a fair chance. At that point, Noah Lyles, who was sitting to their right, grew tired of their antics and interjected, saying to the Norwegian sprinter, “Just say you’re better than him. Oh my gosh, all this twinkle-toeing around!”
That led the moderator to ask Lyles who he’d place his bets on, and he responded, “Well you [pointing to Warholm] know how to use blocks. I’ve never seen you [pointing to Duplantis] in blocks. I think I’m going to put my money on Karsten right here, just for that simple reason. Because you have to use blocks.”
The discussion ended with Duplantis agreeing that he’d have underdog status going into the race, saying, however, “I think I’m going to surprise some people and open some minds,” and Warholm admitting that he’s the one who’s got more to lose in this match up. In a LetsRun.com poll, fans are favoring Warholm for the win. Who do you think would come out ahead?
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
