#PUMA Ambassador and Norwegian athlete Karsten Warholm shares his motivation to become the number one in PUMA’s “Only See Great” campaign
The current 400m hurdles world record holder and World Athlete of the Year 2021 Karsten Warholm speaks about his motivation to stay at the highest level in sports and how he set his record-breaking performance, in a video interview with sports company PUMA.
With the ‘Only See Great’ campaign, PUMA explores the career path of its brand ambassadors, as they will talk about their own paths to striving for greatness, listening to their hearts, and finding a vision that no one else can see.
In the interview, Warholm talks about his extraordinary performances, starting from the very first successes, which happened thanks to a balanced mix of professional preparation and by trusting his instincts.
“When I won the World Championships in London, I think that was a surprise to me and a surprise to everyone”, Karsten said.
“That was sort of my breakthrough, and I didn’t expect it but I also knew I had a chance – I knew that the work was done, and I knew I had results that could be good enough. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re able to do it – but yeah, a very special moment and probably one of the most memorable moments because the victories that you haven’t prepared for mentally are probably the biggest surprises.”
While many titles and medals followed, Warholm says his biggest inspiration is his love for the sport: “I do this because I really enjoy it. And the only thing that’s better than one gold medal… is two.”
The postponement of the Olympic Games last year took their toll on motivation, but Warholm said the delay also helped him raise the bar: “The mindset comes back again because you need to try to turn the tables and see if you can make this an advantage. I was able to continue the training and I think, if it wasn’t for the pandemic, I wouldn’t have been able to run 45.94 at the Olympics.”
Warholm says he fully embraces the vision of “Only See Great”: “Every time I step on a track, I try to give it my all and I hope people see that and get inspired by the way I’m attacking my races. I think attitude is something that we can all have, and we can all learn.”
The idea for PUMA’s “Only See Great” campaign was inspired by cultural icon, entrepreneur and philanthropist Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter who first said: “I only see great. I don’t see good. I don’t see compromise. We should always strive to make something great, something that will last.”
