The 25-year-old Norwegian will have marked the year in the 400m hurdles with two world records and the Olympic title, winning a race called to remain in the great legend of the Games.

On August 3, 2021 in Tokyo, in a late morning made scorching by the temperature (around 33 degrees and 60% humidity), Karsten Warholm had succeeded in thrilling the large Olympic stadium, however empty because of the Covid-19.

In 45 sec 94, he had smashed his own world record (46 sec 70 established on July 1 in Oslo) after a fabulous duel against the American Rai Benjamin (46 sec 17).

The two rivals then ridiculed the old record of the American Kevin Young, who had nevertheless held almost 30 years since the Barcelona Games in 1992 (46 sec 78).

"When I saw the stopwatch I thought it was a mistake, I didn't see anything coming before crossing the line," he said on Wednesday.

The joy of the Norwegian Karsten Warholm, after having broken in 45 sec 94 his own world record in the final of the 400 m hurdles (46 sec 70), on August 3, 2021 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Jewel SAMAD AFP / Archives

"I work very hard to always be better, but it's getting harder and harder because I've already pushed my limits very far," he replied of his ambitions for the future.

Karsten Warholm becomes the first Norwegian to receive the athlete of the year award, awarded since 1988. He succeeds the Swedish pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis.

At 29, Elaine Thompson-Herah also won the award for the first time after an exceptional 2021 season, thanks to the vote divided into three between the Council of World athletics, the "family" of athletics, and the fans.

Thompson-Herah's auspicious year

She had won three Olympic titles in Tokyo (100m, 200m, 4x100m), in addition to the two brought back from Rio in 2016 (100m, 200m).

She thus became the first sprinter to achieve this hat-trick at the Olympics since the American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 in Seoul.

Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah poses with her gold medal after winning the 200m Olympic title on August 4, 2021 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Ina FASSBENDER AFP / Archives

The Jamaican has also outclassed all her rivals on the straight this year in terms of time.

She had notably managed the 2nd performance in history in 10 sec 54 sec, on August 21 in Eugene, only five hundredths behind the sulphurous and old world record of "Flo-Jo" (10 sec 49, July 16, 1988) .

The joy of Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, Olympic champion in the 100m in front of her compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, July 31, 2021 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Odd ANDERSEN AFP / Archives

Originally from the agricultural district of "Banana Ground", marked by great poverty and located in central Jamaica, Thompson-Herah decided after the Olympics to leave his coach Stephen Francis, who had been training him since 2014.

"I still have a lot of things to do in athletics. I was close to the world record, everything is possible, I'm not ready to hang up the spikes," she said.

Thompson-Herah was preferred to Olympic champions Sifan Hassan (5,000 and 10,000m), Faith Kipyegon (1,500m), Sydney McLaughlin (400m hurdles) and Yulimar Rojas (triple jump).

Warholm was ahead of Armand Duplantis (pole vault), Eliud Kipchoge (marathon), Joshua Cheptegei (5,000 m) and Ryan Crouser (weight).

Italian Marcell Jacobs, surprise Olympic champion in the 100m, was not among the finalists.

The Americans Athing Mu (Olympic 800m champion at 19) and Erriyon Knighton (4th at the 200m Games at 17) received the title of "rising stars" of the year, a category reserved for those under 20. years.

© 2021 AFP