- The couple gave up their usual sports to compete in the 100-meter sprint race.
- Olympic athlete Armand Duplantis and hurdler Karsten Warholm faced off
- Both athletes finished the exhibition competition with highly respectable times.
It’s not often that professional athletes switch sports, but when they do they can produce ridiculously surprising results, as was the case when Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis competed against 400-meter hurdler Karsten Warholm in a 100-meter sprint.
The pair agreed to take part in the rare exhibition race which took place in Zurich, Switzerland on Wednesday night, in front of a crowd eager to see the two stars of the sport face off in a unique race.
Duplantis and Warholm are friends off the track, but they put their skills to the test in a race that explored who was the fastest in a 100-meter sprint format.
Warholm’s experience in sprint racing was expected to make him better suited to the format, but Duplantis’ spectacular performance stunned spectators watching the race online and in person.
Pole vault star Duplantis successfully defended his Olympic title in Paris just weeks ago but has shown he may have another chance at a medal in the most popular men’s sprint event.
Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis (right) competed against 400-meter hurdler Karsten Warholm (left) in a 100-meter sprint on Wednesday.
The two are good friends, but they wanted to compete against each other in a one-off sprint in Zurich.
Duplantis (right) won the race while Warholm (left) struggled to maintain pace in the sprint.
A blistering start allowed him to take an early lead that Warholm was never able to regain despite both posting finish times under 11 seconds.
The Swedish pole vault champion finished strongly with a time of 10.37, with his Norwegian counterpart close behind in 10.47.
Both times would have been enough to qualify each for the preliminary round of the men’s 100 metres at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“I’m really excited. How could I not be? I mean, come on, stop messing with me,” a beaming Duplantis said after his crossover win.
Duplantis became an Olympic gold medal winner in Paris just a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Warholm was humbled by the defeat, saying: “I have to give credit to Mondo, he beat me fair and square, so it was a great race,” said Warholm, 28.
“He came out of the blocks quickly and with great precision.”
The occasion featured a comical exit from both competitors as they took to the ring at the Letzigrund Stadium wearing the red and blue robes more commonly seen in boxing.
That brief sprint period will be short-lived, however, as both will now turn their attention to competing in their usual formats in the Diamond League on Thursday.
