XIAMEN, China (AP) — Norwegian standout Karsten Warholm improved on his unofficial world record in the 300-meter hurdles by clocking 33.05 seconds at the opening Diamond League meeting on Saturday.

Warholm shaved 0.21 off his previous mark set in Oslo in 2021, the same year he set the 400-meter hurdles world record.

While it is not an Olympic event, 300 hurdles will soon become an official world-record discipline, World Athletics recently announced.

“I was a little bit surprised by how easy my legs were feeling off the last bend,” Warholm said. “Of course you feel it a little bit in the end, but I managed to really push in the last 45 metres. This shows that the speed is there and the speed over the hurdles is there.”

Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S., finished fifth in the women’s shot put with a best throw of 19.23 metres. Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands won the event with a throw of 20.47.

Warholm sets unofficial world record in 300m hurdles at Diamond League opener | iNFOnews.ca — Karsten Warholm of Norway celebrates after winning the Men’s 300 meters hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League season opener, in Xiamen in southeast China’s Fujian province, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP)

Olympic champions Faith Kipyegon (1,000 meters), Mondo Duplantis (pole vault), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (high jump), Beatrice Chebet (5,000) and Valarie Allman (discus) also posted victories.

In the 1,000, Kipyegon clocked 2:29.21 to come within striking distance of Svetlana Masterkova’s world record of 2:28.98 set in 1996.