The time was 47.67 – a strong time for a semi-final.
“I got the race more or less the way I wanted it, and I'm very happy with that,” Warholm says in the press area after the race.
Number two was home hope Clement Ducos, who made the Stade de France stun again with a 47.85.
He snuck ahead of Alisson dos Santos, who was hoping his time would be good enough to reach the final.
– It's shocking that Santos is number three, says Karsten Warholm to NRK.
But the Brazilian escaped the scare. His time of 47.95 was good enough to secure one of the two “extra tickets” to the final.
The 24-year-old beat Warholm at Bislett earlier this year and is the Norwegian's presumed biggest rival alongside Ray Benjamin.
– Two days ago I got an answer about my leg, but today I was more focused on not doing too much. There is an important final in two days, so it will be good, says Warholm.
There are three semi-finals with the fastest two from each heat advancing, plus the two best times otherwise.
Warholm is in Paris to defend his Olympic gold medal in the 400m hurdles from Tokyo in 2021, where he set the world record with a time of 45.94 seconds.
On Monday, Warholm clocked 47.48 seconds in the attempt, a very fast time on his way to the final, just six-hundredths off the time he won the world championships in 2019.
Then he was pressured by the Frenchman Clement Ducos who pressed and did not dare to take risks.
Warholm has lost her last four events after last year's world championship gold. Before the Olympics, Rae Benjamin had the best of the year with 46.46. Alison dos Santos delivered 46.53 and Warholm 46.70.
The final will take place on Friday evening at 21.45. The entire Olympic programme can be found here. Everything from the Olympic Games can be seen on Max. Earlier on Wednesday there was drama:
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
