TOKYO — Among track and field fans, the two most anticipated races of these Tokyo Olympics were the 400 meter hurdles, both men’s and women’s. Both have incredible athletes, great rivalries, and the chance for the world record to be broken.
On Tuesday morning here the men’s hurdlers got the first crack at seeing if anticipation and reality would meet.
And holy cow did it ever.
Norway’s Karsten Warholm, who had shaved eight one-hundreths of a second off the world record on July 1, and the United States’ Rai Benjamin, who had run the third-fastest time in history, ran a race for the ages. Warholm shattered his previous record, running a stunning 45.94 seconds for gold, and Benjamin ran an incredible 46.17.
The bronze medalist, Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, finished in 46.72.
When the race began, the world record was 46.70. On June 30, the day before the first time Warholm claimed it the first time, it was 46.78.
“I think … no, that was the best race in Olympic history,” Benjamin said. “Three guys pretty much broke the world record and 45.9, man. 46.1. And lost.”
Benjamin said that if you’d told him he’d run 46.1 in the Olympics and lost, “I’d beat you up. I’d kick you out of my room.”
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