Why Karsten Warholm vs Mondo Duplantis sprint showdown could offer clues to the future of athletics

The two world-record holders will race over 100m in Zurich in an exhibition event that has captured fans’ imaginations

Karsten Warholm (left) takes on Mondo Duplantis in a clash of world-record holders in Zurich (Getty Images)

It is a fantasy clash plucked from the pages of fan fiction: Who would win if you took two Norse gods of athletics, stuck them on a start line in Zurich and pitted them against one another in the purest of sporting contests?

On Wednesday night, the athletics world will find out. Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and Karsten Warholm will take the blocks in Zurich for a clash of world-record holders with a difference in what may be the third-most anticipated 100m race of the year. The pair are deities in their respective domains but out of their comfort zone here. Duplantis has reached heights never achieved before as a pole vaulter and Warholm is a three-time world champion in the 400m hurdles. But each is untested at the elite level in athletics’ blue riband event.

A case can be made for either as a likely victor: the gnarly Warholm’s ability to survive in his usual discipline suggests he will have an edge in the final 50 metres, but Duplantis’s explosivity and acceleration are key elements of his paradigm-shifting pole vault achievements. Both clocked similar times as teenage track polymaths – and both exude confidence.

“I think it was my suggestion,” Duplantis explained on race eve. “It’s amazing, because it was just so relaxed, and just proper s*** talk. It was two people challenging each other over testosterone. We just want to compete in whatever it may be.

Pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis will test his speed against hurder Karsten Warholm (PA Wire)

“I love to sprint. I feel good, and I feel like I am definitely on the level to compete with this guy. The juices are flowing. I’m less confident in this than I am in pole vaulting, but there is no feeling that is comparable to that split second before that gun goes off. It’s the biggest bundle of energy you could possibly have.”

It is probably a concern for the sport that an exhibition of this kind has attracted significantly more attention than a packed Diamond League programme that follows a night later in Zurich. This is, of course, an encounter between two non-elite sprinters – in terms of simply athletic merit, there is perhaps no reason to hold it at all.

But there is a reason the race has captured the imagination. Both Duplantis and Warholm have relished the opportunity to compete with relatively low stakes, waging a light-hearted war of words, while the Swede has admitted that it has helped “keep him hungry” with little left for him to prove. The considerable unknowns add uncertainty and a strange sense of jeopardy.

“For me and Mondo, this makes sense,” Warholm said on Tuesday evening as he and Duplantis joked and jawed at a pre-race press conference. “Even though I want to trash-talk him, there are big nerves in this competition.

Karsten Warholm won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 (Getty Images)

“I’ve never seen him sprint 100m; he’s never seen me sprint 100m. We don’t know ourselves – we just want to see. We didn’t create the hype, the event created the hype – people want to see this, it’s something new and exciting.

“I don’t even know myself who is going to win – but I wouldn’t have shaken his hand if I wasn’t confident, that’s for sure. I’m going to give him everything I’ve got and I’m sure he will do the same.”

The launch of Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track global league next year has reignited the conversation around how to cultivate greater interest in athletics. The great American sprinter hopes to revolutionise the landscape by building up personalities and telling stories in new ways.

There is scepticism about how far Johnson can go towards achieving his aims but a radical rethink is surely welcome. Too much of athletics’ current programme simply fails to cut through, with too many events but too few marquee races as certain top stars dodge one another. Perhaps adding to the fun factor by taking them out of their comfort zone may encourage greater participation and allow the natural personalities of athletes to shine.

The one-off event will pit two world-record holders against each other (AFP via Getty Images)

While the idea is undoubtedly gimmicky, Karsten vs Mondo has undoubtedly drawn eyeballs back to athletics during a post-Olympic period in which the sport usually struggles. “Everybody has been talking about that we need something to spark up the track and field world,” Warholm added. “It has gone beyond my expectations how much people are interested and looking forward to this. I think everyone is in for a real dogfight.”

‘Karsten vs Mondo’ is free to watch at worldathletics.org and redbull.com at 8.30pm (BST) on Wednesday, 4 September