BISLETT STADION (VG) Karsten Warholm (26) did not travel to the WC to come in 7th place and has had to work on himself after the setback.
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– It sat for a few days afterwards. From Morocco until I landed in Gardermoen after the World Cup felt like an eternal journey that just really sucked, says Warholm to VG.
Karsten Warholm arrived in Oregon in the USA as reigning world champion in 2017 and 2019, as well as European champion from 2018 and Olympic champion from 2020. But he returned home with a 7th place from the WC final in the 400 meter hurdles.
Up front, it was a race against time for the championship after a hamstring injury he suffered in the season opener in Morocco on June 5. Warholm was being treated in Germany, among other things, by the doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfart.
– As a competitive person and someone who has put all his eggs in one basket, it was really crazy to say the least. It sucked. It did so many days afterwards. It hurt, says Warholm about the WC slump.
–– The nice thing about it is that it shows that it means a lot, but it was some damn shit.
The 26-year-old says the best thing after the setback was getting back into training, and thinks he also benefited from “pondering a bit”.
– I’ve been living a bit on a pink cloud where everything has just worked really well. In recent months, it hasn’t. It hasn’t been very fun and I want to try to get back to where things are rolling, says Warholm.
VG meets Warholm at a press conference at Bislett just under a week before the athletics EC in Munich starts.
Sunnmøringen’s coach, Leif Olav Alnes, admits that the star pupil ran out mentally after the discharge at the front and during the big highlight of the season.
– It wasn’t the 7th place they were after there. It is clear that after winning the previous two World Cups, it is not a bomb to try to place yourself at the top. But it didn’t turn out that way, and when you see that it disappears, part of the motivation probably disappears there and then, says Alnes.
Ahead of the championship, the successful duo Alnes/Warholm have tried to gear up the mental machinery.
– We conduct therapy on each other as we usually do. Of course, being number seven was no fun, but you just have to learn to live with the facts and play with the cards you have. I think it can be good in the long term if you get a few bangs, says Alnes.
– Wasn’t that what you told him immediately?
– Maybe it wasn’t exactly the words I used, but I quickly got into a more productive attitude, replies the coach.
Warholm runs preliminary attempts in the 400 meter hurdles on Wednesday 17 August. After the European Championship, there are several major events, including the Diamond League final in Zurich on 7-8. September. It has not yet been decided whether Warholm will run any more after the EC.
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