"He's underestimating my speed... I think he should be nervous"-Mondo Duplantis sends warning to Karsten Warholm ahead of 100m clash at Diamond League

Mondo Duplantis has warned 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm that he might be underestimating his speed ahead of their 100m showdown at the Zurich Diamond League. The pole vault Olympic champion challenged the Norwegian for a sprint last year, and will now square off on September 4.

Duplantis and Warholm held a joint training session in July last year ahead of the Monaco Diamond League. After making a few runs together, the Swedish icon told Warholm (via Olympics.com):

"Let's race"

The then Olympic champion Karsten Warholm accepted the challenge without any hesitation. However, Duplantis claimed that he wasn't saying he would ‘kick Karsten’s ass’ but will give him a good run for his money.

With the race officially announced at the Zurich Diamond League on September 4, Mondo Duplantis looked highly confident and warned that the 400m hurdles world record holder might be underestimating his speed on the track.

“I think my strength is that I'm fast and I mean I think if that's what's required to run a 100 meter, my expectations are to win. I'm just trying to get to that line before he does," he said in a video posted by Puma on Instagram.

I know what I am and I know what I can do and I know that I step up to the occasion. I think he's probably just underestimating my speed in general. That's the nature of the event and that's what this is. This is just all about speed," he added.

Duplantis also teased that he had won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics while Warholm had finished second in the 400m hurdles.

"I did win the Olympics this year and he got second. I think Karsten is sleeping on the fact that I'm fast. I think he should be nervous. If he's going into the competition thinking it's gonna be a walk in the park then I think he's gonna have something coming for him," he added.

---

How fast can Mondo Duplantis run over 100m?

Diamond League Silesia. 2024 Kamila Skolimowska Memorial. - Source: Getty

Mondo Duplantis has run a best of 10.57s over 100m. He ran the race in 2018 during his senior year of high school, and it's also the last time he ran in any official event. On the other side, Karsten Warholm hasn't sprinted over 100m since 2017, when he clocked a personal best of 10.49s.

Last year during the training session, Duplantis claimed that he would be surprised if he didn't break 10.30s.

"On a good day with a lot of tailwind, maybe 9.99? I don't know," he added jokingly. (via Olympics.com)

Mondo Duplantis has the speed used in the 40-yard run for the pole vault jump but maintaining that speed through the 100m will be challenging. Karsten Warholm has the endurance to hold the speed but isn't used to running at top speed from the start. Nonetheless, Warholm would be the favorite as a runner.