Favorites Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin cruised through men’s 400-meter hurdles qualifying Saturday at the World Athletics Championships.
Running in heat 1 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Benjamin of the United States rolled to victory in 49.06 seconds. Warholm of Norway crossed in 49.34 to win the third heat.
American Khallifah Rosser posted the fastest time of the day in winning the final heat in 48.62. The United States’ Trevor Bassitt also advanced to the semifinals on Sunday evening.
The other heat winners were Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos (49.41) and Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.78).
The men’s 400 hurdles final, set for Tuesday night, is one of the highly anticipated races at the world championships. Warholm set the world record in winning the event last year at the Tokyo Olympics, with Benjamin taking the silver.