“I’m a little bit surprised over how kind of easy my legs were feeling out the last bend,” Karsten Warholm admitted after doing what only he could make look this effortless breaking the 300m hurdles world record at the Xiamen Diamond League with a mind-boggling score of 33.05! For an athlete who’s spent the past seasons battling a body that refused to cooperate, this moment wasn’t just about victory. It was about reclaiming the feeling of flight. Something he hadn’t truly felt since his peak in Tokyo.

Warholm’s journey hasn’t been a straight line. The Norwegian star first burst onto the global scene when he won the Boy’s Octathlon at the 8th IAAF World Youth Championships held at Donetsk, Ukraine in July 2013. Warholm sealed his win with a 10.86, his personal best, gathering 892 points. But eventually, before he found his ultimate weapon in the 400m hurdles. And from there, history kept calling. In one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Olympic history, he obliterated his world record with a 45.94-second finish at the Tokyo Olympics. Being a Diamond League champion in 2019 and 2021, Warholm has spent years redefining what’s possible on the track.

Still, for someone like Karsten Warholm, greatness was never just about talent. It was about finding a way through the struggles. Reflecting on his journey in an interview with CITIUS MAG in the YouTube Video, the two-time Olympic Medalist said, “I knew it’s in my… it’s in my body to perform that, but, uh, you obviously have to do it. I tried one time in, uh, June last year; it didn’t work out for me, and this race was a lot better.” That quiet frustration from last year? It’s now fueling him to new heights. Clocking the win in 33.05 seconds. Even after losing his Tokyo Olympic championship to American Rai Benjamin in 2024, the Norwegian hurdler didn’t lose an ounce of faith in himself.

If there’s one thing Warholm has proven time and again, it’s that he’s built different. Fans have watched him grind relentlessly. Whether it’s hurdle drills under the blazing sun or heavy strength sessions pushing a 400 kg trap bar lift, all documented with a cheeky “Same dog. Same tricks” post on Instagram. The guy doesn’t just show up; he redefines what’s possible. And now, fresh off his 300m hurdles world record in Xiamen, Warholm’s mindset is only getting sharper. “Yeah, I know I can do it,” he added. “And uh I guess if we’re running again in Bislett and uh all the guys will be there, we will push under the 33-second line, I’m pretty sure.” Classic Warholm, already thinking about how to go even faster.

And let’s be real! When Warholm says something like that, you don’t bet against him. His fans know it, his rivals know it, and after what he just pulled off in Xiamen, the whole world’s been reminded. His return isn’t just about one record; it’s about resetting the standard all over again, just like he did when he stunned the world in Tokyo. And something tells us that he’s not done rewriting the script yet.

Karsten Warholm’s dominant season opener in Xiamen

Karsten Warholm couldn’t have asked for a better season opener. In what was the first official Diamond League race over the 300m hurdles distance, the track and field star stormed to victory in a jaw-dropping 33.05 seconds, slicing more than two-tenths off his previous best of 33.26 set back in 2021. From the moment the gun went off, Warholm and CJ Allen of the USA exploded down the back straight, but it was the 29-year-old, the reigning 400m hurdles world record holder, who absolutely lit up the track through the final bend, leaving the rest of the field chasing shadows.

By the time Warholm crossed the finish line, the gap was emphatic. Brazil’s Matheus Lima finished a distant second in 33.98, while Japan’s Toyoda Ken rounded out the podium in 34.22. Warholm had flirted with breaking his own 300m hurdles mark before. Narrowly missing it by just two-hundredths of a second in Bergen last year. But this time in Xiamen, with his fans roaring him on just as he had hoped. “I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my Chinese fans,” he had said before the meet. There was no stopping him from rewriting history once again.

Reflecting his fierce competitive spirit, Warholm has made his intentions crystal clear in the interview. “I’m looking to win as much as I can and, uh, and improve and improve my level as much as possible. That’s the only goal all the time, and, uh, I’m hungry for more gold medals, actually, believe it or not.” And based on the performance he just unleashed in Xiamen, there’s no doubting him. Warholm isn’t just back. He’s making it very clear he’s hungrier, sharper, and faster than ever.