Karsten Warholm exclusive on his ego and losing. "I can also handle defeats, even though I'm not used to it."

Down but far from out.  

Karsten Warholm could well have a phoenix rising from the ashes return at the Munich 2022 European athletics championships.

Norway's 400m hurdles star suffered a shock defeat a month ago at the World Athletics Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The 26-year-old tore a hamstring at the Rabat Diamond League just six weeks earlier. Despite persevering, his hopes of retaining his world title disappeared as he finished seventh in the final.

A month on, the Olympic champion is seeking to learn from the past and redeem himself in Munich.

"I think that I have experienced life how it probably should be," Warholm told Olympics.com in Germany. "I've been living on this pink little cloud for the last year, always performing and getting an injury, It kind of sucks because you're an athlete and all you want to do is sports, so an injury keeps you away from that and that is no fun and also it keeps me away from performing the way that I want it to. But it's an experience as well and it's apart of my journey.

"So now I'm here, I feel like I've been able to do all the work that I want to do, so I'm looking forward to the European champs."

Since failing to defend his world title, Warholm has been hard at work to have a better outing in Munich. If all goes to plan, he'll retain his Euro title which was won four years ago in Berlin. The Norwegian won his heat on Thursday (18 August) with room to spare, setting him up for Friday evening's final.

_"_It's been mostly focusing on improving the fitness levels because the speed was there, but I couldn't stay the whole distance. So it's very important to build that because there's a lot of lactic in my sport and to build that lactic tolerance is very important."

Karsten Warholm: In the pursuit of excellence

Warholm won Tokyo 2020 men's 400m hurdles gold last year in a world record time of 45.94 seconds.

Going from such a high to injury woes and then worlds disappointment has been a unique experience for him. But he says his ego hasn't been bruised along the way.

"The problem is, I'm born with with a very high ego. So it's more like a bad habit than something that depends on my sporting abilities. But it's okay to be honest. I can also handle defeats, even though I'm not used to it. I think all of that is what makes me a better athlete.

"Growing up, I wasn't always the best athlete and that's why I became a hard worker, because I figured I need to work harder than everybody else. And that's what I do now. That's also why it hurts more when you are not able to perform because you put in all the work. But my ego is fine, I can assure you."

His situation right now is quite different to this time in 2021. A year ago he was celebrating having won Olympic gold and re-imagining what was possible at this distance.

"One year older obviously. But a lot of things changed after that race as well because winning the Olympics, it always sort of takes you to a new level as an athlete. So there's been a lot of things that I've had to learn to balance because there's a lot of more attention and all of these things that you need to focus on besides the sports.

"I've also learned to appreciate more the training work that I do and to always prioritise whatever makes me a better athlete. I didn't see myself here one year ago, that I would be injured of course, but also that's what happens when you always try to push the limits. I was hoping this year that I could go even faster. But everybody knows what happened."

The Tokyo Olympics will forever be etched in his memory, but he's eager to make new memories, knowing Tokyo was a one of a kind moment.

"It's of course the greatest moment in my career and it's one of those moments you don't get too often. And what I also realised after is that I won't be able to re-live this moment forever.

"It was an Olympic final, it was a world record. It was one of the best races ever in our sport. So I can't copy that all the time. And that is something that I learned to live with very quick. But it's a moment that I always come back to."