Karsten Warholm opened his season in auspicious form at the Trond Mohn Games, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, on Wednesday (22) evening.
In his first race since a last minute decision to race at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow which yielded silver in the 400m, Warholm was back in action over the barriers and he blasted to victory in the 300m hurdles in 33.28.
On an unseasonably warm evening in the Fana Stadium, Warholm was only 0.02 shy of his world best which he set in Oslo in 2021 just weeks before winning Olympic gold in a world record of 45.94.
Warholm will contest his first 400m hurdles of the season at the Bislett Games in Oslo on 30 May before his attention turns to the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June where he will be chasing a hat-trick of titles in his specialist event.
In what are undoubtedly heady times for athletics in Norway, Warholm wasn't the only Norwegian athlete to excel at the Trond Mohn Games.
In the 300m, Henriette Jaeger's breakthrough year continued to gain momentum as she stopped the clock at 35.46 to move to equal second on the European all-time 300m list with Great Britain's Kathy Cook and just 0.01 shy of Irina Privalova's European best which was set indoors back in 1993.
Elsewhere, world 1500m bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas won the 3000m in a European leading time and lifetime best of 7:35.75 and Marcus Thomsen won the shot put with 20.92m.
Steven Mills for European Athletics