Gabby Thomas backs Mondo Duplantis approach over his clash with Karsten Warholm [Image Source: Getty]

"I'm begging to stop focusing on times" - Gabby Thomas agrees with Mondo Duplantis' approach to timing ahead of 100m clash against Karsten Warholm

Modified Sep 04, 2024 03:29 GMT

American sprinter Gabby Thomas has seconded pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis' opinion on race timing. Duplantis is all set for the much-awaited race with Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm. The two world record holders will compete in a friendly 100m dash a day before the Zurich Diamond League officially commences on September 5.

Duplantis recently said he is focused less on the timing and more on the main result.

"For me, I don't care about the time. If I run 10.30 and I lose, that's worse than running 10.60 and winning. For me, it's really just getting to the line first. And if I win, that's everything," he said (via Citius Mag).

The 24-year-old has now received the support of triple Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle 'Gabby' Thomas. She captioned her recent Instagram story on this issue:

"Yes, this is the point of COMPETITION!"

"I'm begging track and field to stop focusing so hard on times [like we're debating over fractions of seconds??" she added.

Screengrabs of Gabby Thomas' Instagram Story [Image Source: Gabby Thomas' Instagram]

Mondo Duplantis is the current world record holder in the men's pole vault, while Karsten Warholm is the world record holder in the men's 400m hurdles event. The two had agreed for a friendly 100m dash in July. The date for the clash is September 4 (Wednesday), a day before the Zurich leg of the Diamond League began.

Mondo Duplantis on his clash with Karsten Warholm

Mondo Duplantis excited for the clash with Karsten Warholm [Image Source: Getty]

Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis doesn't think about this race as another opportunity to break a record.

While he warned Karsten Warholm in jest not to take him lightly, he also mentioned how he was looking forward to this event. In a press brief after his record-breaking performance at the Silesia Diamond League, Mondo Duplantis said:

"I mean, I think that honestly, the 100m race against Karsten has helped these past couple of weeks to keep the motivation high and keep myself in good shape and keep me hungry for this last part of the season because I think it's going to be such a fun thing and something really nice, to push ourselves to do something new and kind of fresh."

Duplantis last ran the 100m at a high school event in 2018 when he ran a personal best of 10.57 seconds. On the other hand, Karsten Warholm has hardly run the 100m race since 2017 when his personal best was 10.49 seconds. It would be intriguing to see who wins this clash.