New Olympic 400m hurdles world champion Karsten Warholm called Nike super cleats “bullshit” – claiming they act like trampolines and damage the credibility of athletics.

The Norwegian, who spoke after taking gold in 45.94 seconds, a new world record and a performance widely recognized as one of the greatest in history, said that his big rival Rai Benjamin ” was on the air “- adding” he had these things in his shoes, which I hate.

While praising Benjamin’s performance in winning a silver medal in 46.17 seconds, a time that also broke the previous world record, he said it was wrong that Nike athletes could run in a thick slab. of super reactive Pebax foam in sprint tips.

“I don’t see why you should put anything under a sprint shoe,” he said. “In the middle distance, I can understand it thanks to the cushioning. If you want padding, you can put a mattress in it. But if you put on a trampoline, I think that’s bullshit, and I think it takes away the credibility of our sport.

Warholm was speaking after being asked about the streak of incredible times, with Benjamin and Brazilian Alison dos Santos all running faster than Kevin Young’s world record which lasted 29 years before the Norwegian beat him earlier in the summer.

“This trail is crazy,” added Warholm. “It’s a great track. It actually gave me the vibe of London 2017 – it’s where I got my first gold medal and it’s a really fast track. But it’s not just the track, it was also the guys pushing each other.

Warholm explained that he worked with the Formula 1 team Mercedes and Puma to develop his own running tip, but insisted his shoe was very different from the Nike shoe because it was close enough to be compared. to previous peaks over the years.

“Yes, we have the carbon plate,” Warholm said. “But we tried to make it as thin as possible. Because that’s how I would like to do it. Of course, the technology will always be there. But I also want to keep it at a level where we can compare results because it’s important.

Benjamin, meanwhile, had his own explanation. “It’s a very good track. It’s sweet, it gives a lot, it’s a phenomenal song. People say it’s the track, the shoes and the conditions were really good.

“But I could wear different shoes and still run fast. No one will do what we just did, I don’t care who you are, ”he said. “It could be Kevin Young, Edwin Moses, respect these guys, but they can’t do what we just did earlier. It’s a very fast track, it felt good, the conditions were really good.