by Larry Eder
Oh what a 400 meter final for the Men. Doom breaks Warholm’s 10 year winning streak at the indoor two lapper!
Karsten Warholm started as a decathlete and then got into the 400-meter hurdles. The Crazy Viking loves the 400-meter flat and just wanted some racing.
So, when he figured out that he had a 400m qualifier, Karsten came into Glasgow and ran well in the heat and semi yesterday.
Karsten Warholm gets out fast in the indoor 400m. Remember, Warholm was almost beaten in the 400 meters at the European Indoors last year.
The issue for Warholm is this. The strength that allows Karsten to go out fast outdoors, is dangerous to Warholm indoors as he comes back a bit in the second lap. The observant 400-meter runner, who times his charge at the right time, may be able to get past Warholm as he begins to slow down.
Alexander Doom is such a 400-meter runner. A 4x400m specialist, Alexander noted that he likes the individual events. Doom looked great in the round and semi on Friday and was ready to roll on Saturday.
In one of the most exciting 400 meters I have ever seen, Alexander Doom moved into lane two, slowly onto the side of Warholm, then passed the Norwegian, running 45.25 NR for Belgium. Karsten Warholm took the silver in 45.34 with Rusheed McDonald, JAM, 45.65 PB.
Upset ‼️
🇧🇪’s Alexander Doom grabs the 400m gold medal with a 45.25 national record 👏#WorldIndoorChamps pic.twitter.com/x3urQGM61D
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 3, 2024
Alexander Doom told the media: “It’s amazing. I never expected this because we didn’t have this in sight. Usually, I am just focused on the 4×4. But I loved running individually. The Heats and the Semis went really well yesterday, and beating Karsten Warholm today is really amazing. He’s an Olympic champion and has won almost everything there is. Not many people have beaten him. At the finish line, I felt so, so, so gorgeous. Now, the focus is on the 4×4 and qualifying for the Olympics from the World Relays. And then it’s the summer. The European championship is a big goal for me.”
The crazy Viking was circumspect. He told the media:
“I didn’t have time to do all the usual winter work, so I felt a bit stressed with the rounds. All in all, it’s an acceptable time, so it’s OK. It was a last-minute decision to come here. I get a little bit of feeling out of it and get to test the body. As long as I didn’t get any injuries, it was all OK. Of course, I wish I had won today, but it was so nice coming out here and performing in front of all that noise. You guys know how to do athletics. I think this was a great race for the 350 meters. Then it was a bit heavy in the end, I got lactic so.. as you know, I have not started my indoor season until yesterday so I should have been prepared a bit better. But I am happy to walk away from injury-free, and congrats to the gold medal winner. I always wanted gold, but today, it was the tough one.”
