Tokyo 2020: Karsten Warholm's New World Record Hailed 'Better Than Usain Bolt's'

KEY POINTS

Karsten Warholm pulled off a historic Olympic performance in Tokyo
Warholm's victory has been described as the "greatest"
The Norwegian now holds a plethora of records

Karsten Warholm has put on a performance for the ages at the Tokyo 2020 hurdles event.

Apart from the copping of the Olympic gold medal, Warholm’s men’s Tokyo 2020 400-meter hurdles victory is also being hyped as by far the “most thrilling contest of this summer’s Olympics.”

The Norwegian recorded a remarkable time of 45.94 seconds, beating his own previous world record in the process–46.70 seconds.

Among the most notable persons who raved about Warholm’s performance was track and field legend Greg Rutherford.

According to Rutherford, Warholm’s Olympic win was the “greatest in athletics history on the track,” exceeding even that of legendary Olympian Usain Bolt’s.

“[Warholm’s] performance is the GREATEST in athletics history on the track…better than [Usain] Bolt[‘]s WR (world record),” Rutherford tweeted. That’s my opinion.”

Warholm is no stranger to such praises. In fact, he has long been dubbed by some as the “next Bolt.”

Usain Bolt announced the birth of twin boys on Father's Day AFP / PEDRO UGARTE

However, despite evidently being deserving of the recognition, Warholm insisted that each athlete has his own path.

"When Usain Bolt came into the sport, he didn't have anyone right before him,” Warholm said in October last year. “He didn't have any shoes to fill at that point. Now everybody talks about who's going to be the next Usain Bolt. Nobody is going to be the next Usain Bolt! Nobody is going to be the next Ato Boldon either.”

"I think everybody's got to find their own way, Usain Bolt was huge so it's an honor just being compared to him, but for me, it's always been about developing,” he continued. "I don't want to build myself up as the face of the sport or ‘the next Usain [Bolt]’ because for me, it's about the running. If what comes with it is that people get inspired by what I'm doing then I think that's great."

The 25-year-old finished just ahead of USA's Rai Benjamin, who also surpassed his own world record by more than half a second.

Like most people reckon, Benjamin also thinks that the said contest was “the best race in Olympic history.”

"That was the best race in Olympic history, everyone in this event should be getting paid big bucks, in all honesty," Benjamin told CNN after the race.

As it stands, Warholm--who has admitted that he feels “ecstatic” about his win--is now the sole holder of the European, World and Olympic titles.