Carl Bengtström is clear about where the line is for an approved championship: get to the finish line in Sunday’s attempt – and preferably with a personal best.
— I think I have the worst “PB” of everyone here. Everything I do is a bonus, says the 23-year-old.
— I absolutely believe that I will improve a few tenths on my personal record, and maybe even make it to a semi.
TT: But then it stops?
— The final is very tough, then something crazy will happen. But you should never say never, it’s sport. I can usually perform well at championships but I don’t go in with the attitude of making it to the finals like I had done on the hurdles.
“Had trouble”
The WC plan for Budapest was really something else.
Bengtström wanted to continue chasing the goal he had before last summer’s WC in Eugene.
He wants to run the WC final in the 400 meter hurdles.
In the United States, he was 16 hundredths from succeeding.
In Hungary’s capital, the dream is stopped by a difficult-to-heal thigh injury.
— I had had problems with my foot all spring and that is probably what caused me to have problems with my back.
— It has been very difficult, first of all, to find out what the problem has been. When we got the hang of it, it’s been hard to work with it, as it doesn’t heal like a muscle.
“Too provocative”
The injury meant that some time ago he chose to skip the 400 meter hurdles to bet on the same distance but flat.
— The hedgerows can be too provocative for the tendon, he says and calls the time at the side of the track “tough”.
— We thought from the beginning that it wasn’t quite as serious as it was. It has been tough to constantly understand that it is worse. I’ve been able to train pretty hard all the time, but it’s mainly these top speeds that I really need the most out of everything that we haven’t trained on.
— Considering the background, I’m just happy to be here, quite honestly.
Carl Bengtström already has two indoor medals in the 400 meters, WC bronze in 2022 and EC bronze earlier this year.