– It was awesome, stop mocking me, says an emotional Duplantis, who gave Warholm a Swedish national team shirt to compete with tomorrow.
The time had been enough for a SM silver for Duplantis.
Duplantis took the start and then pulled out and was in full control. At the finish line, Mondo glanced to his right to see where he had Warholm, who clocked 10.47.
– I have to give it to Mondo, he won in an honest way and was fast out of the blocks, says Warholm.
It has been planned for a year and lately the speculation has reached feverish levels, where it has been difficult to see any clear favourite. Referee Colin Jackson, a former 110m hurdles star, called the duelists, who came out as boxers, to a match. Jackson pointed out that he wanted a fair fight and that he did not want to see any biting or other inappropriate behavior from the duelists.
They met in a duel at the classic Letzigrund stadium in Zurich the day before the Diamond League gala on Thursday, where both will compete in their special events: Duplantis in the pole vault and Warholm in the 400m hurdles.
Duplanti’s personal record was 10.57 from 2018, when he was 18 years old.
Warholm’s personal best before the race was 10.49 from 2017.