Athletics World Championships in Budapest: 400 m hurdles – Warholm takes gold, Abuaku eighth

Karsten Warholm won gold over 400 m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, DLV runner Joshua Abuaku took a good eighth place.

Abuaku was the first German in a race for gold since Harald Schmid 36 years ago, finishing in Budapest in 48.53 seconds. “It motivates for the future that I can also compete at world level. I’ll try to build on that next year.”said Abuaku of the sports show: “From now on you can dream bigger. The European Championship final is the goal and a medal.” Participation in the final at the Olympics is also his goal.

Abuaku, fifth in the European Championship, set a personal best of 48.32 seconds and wants to aim for Schmid’s national record from 1982 (47.48 seconds) in the long term. The time was a European record until 1995.

Third world title for Warholm

Olympic champion Warholm from Norway secured gold in 46.89 seconds, who won the world title for the third time after 2017 and 2019 and made his defeat from the previous year forgotten. At the World Championships in Eugene, the exceptional sprinter started ailing and only finished seventh.

“Now I’m the first 400m hurdler to win three gold medals and I like the feeling,” Warholm told Sportschau. “I’m so proud of myself and my team. We live for these big moments, they bring out the best in us.”

Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands (47.34) took second place, with bronze going to USA’s Rai Benjamin (47.56).

German sprinters with a good impression over 400 m hurdles

The German sprinters over the 400 m hurdles made a good impression overall in Hungary: Emil Agyekum (Frankfurt) also advanced to the World Cup semi-finals, but was eliminated there despite a personal best of 48.71 seconds.

Constantin Preis (Sindelfingen) couldn’t get past the pre-run with back problems. Schmid was the last German to stand in the 400 m hurdles in a World Cup final in Rome in 1987. The former European record holder won bronze at the time.