MONACO (AFP) — Karsten Warholm insisted that he would not be using a magic wand in his bid to defend his Olympic 400m hurdles title at the Paris Games that get under way in three weeks.

Warholm, 28, smashed the world record to win gold in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics, clocking a stunning 45.94 seconds to win ahead of American Rai Benjamin (46.17 seconds) and Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos (46.72 seconds).

Their performances in 2021 were a true standout of the Tokyo Games and the trio will come head-to-head in the Diamond League in Monaco as they finetune preparations for Paris.

Warholm brazenly claimed the men’s hurdles are at the “highest level of any event in track and field.”

But he warned consistency was his goal in the run-in to Paris.

“It’s a bad idea trying to do magic stuff in a big year because you know that can also create some difficulties,” the Norwegian said.

“For me it’s been about building on the foundation that I feel like we have done for many years,” he added.

“I think also I found a coldness in what I’m doing. I’ve ticked up a lot of the boxes. It feels very good. I’m very confident about it.”

“Every time I go into a championship, I know that we’ve done everything that we could.”

“You want to feel like you deserve this the most. If you do that you have very good starting points. And of course, there were probably eight other guys that felt the same way. But you’ve got to believe in the work you’ve done and that’s what I always do.”