It’s been hard to get noticed as a 400m hurdler in 2018. 

Between the Diamond League dominance of Abderrahman Samba and the NCAA explosion from Rai Benjamin, even the 2017 world champion, Karsten Warholm, has been overshadowed. 

Warholm has put together a better season than his 2017 campaign, but when the second and third best men in history are your contemporaries, all-time marks become pre-requisites to win races.

But Samba and Benjamin weren’t on the start line in Berlin, giving Warholm the stage to himself. Without the big names, the 22-year-old ran the fastest race of his life—a brilliantly executed 47.64 to win gold. 

Through 300 meters, Warholm had company. Turkey’s Yasmani Copello was side-by-side with Warholm as they came off the final curve. Warholm was ready with a response and finally separated from Copello in the final 50 meters. Copello also ran the race of his life posting a 47.81, a Turkish national record in the event. Thomas Barr of Ireland was third. Warholm is now halfway to his attempt at the 400m hurdle/400m double. He will race the flat 400m tomorrow. 

Only 22, Norway's Karsten Warholm is now the reigning world and European champion in the 400m hurdles.

He will attempt to double his tally in tomorrow night's 400m final!#EC2018 #TheMoment pic.twitter.com/51tZMCBrut

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) August 9, 2018

In the men’s 200m, Ramil Guliyev threw his hands in the air in celebration five meters before the finish and still came away with a lifetime best of 19.76.

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The mark is an improvement of .12 over his previous best time and the second fastest European performance in history. He had no equals on Thursday. Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Great Britain and Alex Wilson won silver and bronze. Both men were timed at 20.04.

Ramil Guliyev 1️⃣9️⃣.7️⃣6️⃣ #EC2018 pic.twitter.com/oz7uI1qckv

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 9, 2018

Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad made a hard move with 600 meters remaining to claim the fourth European Championships steeplechase gold of his career. The pace was slow early with nobody in the field in hurry to push the pace. Mekhissi-Benabbad, the pre-race favorite, held back until there was only a lap and a half left in the race. 

When he took off, only Fernando Carro of Spain was able to mount a response. It looked for a moment that the Spaniard could close the gap on Mekhissi-Benabbad as the men raced down the backstretch. But off the final water jump, it was clear that Mekhissi-Benabbad had enough. He celebrated the final meters, crossing the line in 8:31.66. Carro took second in 8:34.16, while Yohanes Chiappinelli of Italy grabbed the bronze in 8:35.81.

Mekhissi-Benabbad plans to race in the 5000m later in the meet.

The highly anticipated javelin competition that featured the best in the world went the way of Germany. Thomas Rohler took gold with a throw of 89.47 meters, while his countryman Andreas Hofmann took second with a throw of 87.60. Magnus Kirt placed third with a mark of 85.96. Germany’s Johannes Vetter, the owner of the year’s best throw, could only manage fifth.

Germany also wracked up two medals in the women’s 100m hurdles where Pamela Dutkiewicz and Cindy Roleder took second and third behind surprise winner Elvira Herman of Belarus. Herman ran 12.67 to finish just ahead of Dutkiewicz (12.72) and Roleder (12.77). Alina Talay crashed out and didn’t finish the race.  

22.89 by by Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the fastest ever hep 200m at the European Championships! #EC2018 pic.twitter.com/qeFSwNs8PK

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 9, 2018

The heptathlon is setting up to be a close race between Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Nafissatou Thiam. Johnson-Thompson leads on the strength of her spectacular 200m with 4017 points, while Thiam is in second with 3930 points.