What began as casual training banter is about to become reality for Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm. It's been in the works for over a year, but now the athletics world record holders in pole vault and 400m hurdles respectively are about to finally go head to head.
To make things fair, they chose a neutral event – the 100m – and now the trash talk is amplifying before it all goes down on Wednesday (4 September) ahead of the Zurich Diamond League Weltklasse meet a day later.
It all began last July, after a joint training session leading up to the Monaco Diamond League between both men. After a few sprints, Duplantis laid down the challenge: "Let's race". There was no way Warholm, who is the only man to have run the 400m hurdles under 46 seconds with his Tokyo 2020 gold-winning 45.94 in 2021, would say no.
Duplantis says he has it all worked out, though, after Warholm warned the Swede he would be faster. "My expectations are to win. I am just trying to get to that line before he does, that's the only thing that matters," the pole vaulter said in a social media video ahead of Wednesday's showdown. "I think he's probably just underestimating my speed in general."
And Duplantis added with a cheeky grin: "I did win the Olympics this year, and he got second!"
During that training session last July, the two men traded banter with each other. "I'm not saying I'm going to kick Karsten's ass," Duplantis teased Warholm, before addressing his friend: "But I am saying I'll give you a good run for your money."
The Norwegian hurdler admitted: "It would be more embarrassing for me if you beat me than it would be for you if I beat you."
Duplantis's career best in the 100m came during his high school years, posting a wind-aided 10.57 during his senior year in 2018. The pole vault does require a decent sprint to build up speed for the vault – but the runway is just 40m long, meaning Duplantis would need to hold on for another 60m, although he would have pretty good acceleration.
On the other hand, Warholm hasn't run a 100m since 2017, with a 10.49 in January of that year also serving as his personal best mark. Warholm clearly has speed over barriers placed throughout an entire lap, and will be used to starting out of the blocks while Duplantis gets a standing start in the pole vault. But having to hit top speed much sooner than he is used to won't be in Warholm's favour.
And yet, in that training session last year, Warholm talked a big game, saying: "I would be quite surprised if I didn't go 10.30 or below. On a good day with a lot of tailwind, maybe 9.99? I don't know," he added jokingly.
But as Duplantis points out, it's he who comes into this showdown as a reigning Olympic champion, not Warholm, who won silver behind Rai Benjamin at Paris 2024.
Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, the world’s greatest pole vaulter, is set to take on an unexpected challenge—a head-to-head 100m dash against Norway’s Karsten Warholm. This highly anticipated showdown, scheduled for Wednesday night at Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium, marks the culmination of a year-long rivalry between two of the most dominant figures in athletics.
Warholm, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 400m hurdles, is widely regarded as a sprinting powerhouse. On the other hand, Duplantis, a double Olympic champion and the world pole vault record holder, has dominated his discipline by breaking the world record a staggering ten times. The clash between these two titans promises to be a spectacle that will resonate through the annals of sports history.
Despite Warholm’s advantage as a seasoned track athlete, Duplantis has been quietly honing his sprinting skills, with some unexpected help from 100m Olympic bronze medalist Fred Kerley. In the lead-up to the showdown, Duplantis revealed how Kerley’s guidance has been instrumental in his preparation. "I just saw Fred in the lobby of the hotel in Lausanne and was like, ‘When are you doing blocks?’ And he was like 2 O’clock, and I said ‘bet,’” Duplantis shared with Citius Mag.
This chance encounter led to an impromptu training session that proved invaluable for the Swedish star. "So I pulled up on him at 2 O’clock, and then we did blocks together, and that was so necessary because I have been doing them by myself. You really cannot replicate the feeling of having somebody on your side, and that was a lot of speed on my side, which was something I needed, and it felt right."
Kerley’s influence went beyond just practicing starts. Duplantis highlighted how the American sprinter offered crucial advice on technique and mental preparation. "We watched a video together, and he was giving me some pointers and stuff, like he gave me a few mental pointers and drills and whatnot as far as reaction time in those first few steps and also block positions because I was kind of wavering a little," Duplantis explained. "I have a feel of it and watch what other people do, and I am kind of imitating people, but it was nice to get some advice on positioning on the blocks."
The collaboration between Duplantis and Kerley underscores the spirit of camaraderie that exists among elite athletes, even as they compete in different disciplines. For Duplantis, this sprinting duel is not just about winning but about pushing his limits and testing himself against one of the fastest men in the world.
The race, organized by Weltklasse Zurich in partnership with Puma and Red Bull, will take place in front of a sold-out crowd at Letzigrund Stadium, just a day before the Wanda Diamond League meeting. It’s a unique event that blends the excitement of sprinting with the technical prowess of pole vaulting, bringing together fans from both disciplines for a night of unforgettable athletic competition.
