Karsten Warholm, of Norway celebrates as he wins the gold medal in the final of the men's 400-meter hurdles at the Summer Olympics, on Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Norway's Karsten Warholm smashed his own men's 400-meter hurdles world record by 0.76 second in winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.

       Warholm crossed the line in 45.94, beating American Rai Benjamin by 0.23 in a close race held in hot and humid conditions at Tokyo's National Stadium. Benjamin's 46.17 time would have broken Warholm's old world record of 46.70, clocked about a month ago.

       "I always say that a perfect race doesn't exist, but this is the closest I think I've come," the 25-year-old Warholm said.

       "Of course everything came together, but at the same time, I am really happy to be able to perform the best race that I can do in the Olympics," he said. "Today, when you see the times, it's crazy. It was good conditions today, but still crazy running 45 (seconds)."

       Benjamin, who is also 25, said it was the "best race in Olympic history," while admitting he needs time to process his loss.

       "There's a lot of things that I could've done differently but at the same time, how could you know?" he said. "But If you would've told me that I was going to run 46.1 and lose, I would probably beat you up. But I'm happy to be a part of history."

       Alison dos Santos of Brazil took the bronze at his first Olympics.

       In the women's long jump, Germany's Malaika Mihambo landed the longest leap of the day in her sixth and final attempt to snatch gold. Her 7.0-meter splash took the lead from American Brittney Reese, who finished in silver with 6.97.

       Ese Brume of Nigeria finished third, two spots better than her Rio de Janeiro Olympic result in 2016.

       In other events, none of the Japanese sprinters managed to advance to the men's 200-meter semifinals on Tuesday evening, after making exits in the morning's first round.

       Shota Iizuka crossed the line in 21.02 and Abdul Hakim Sani Brown clocked 21.41 to finish sixth in their respective heats. Jun Yamashita was fifth in his race after finishing in 20.78.

       "I did well up to the first 50 meters, but I couldn't keep my pace," Sani Brown said. "I don't understand why I was so slow."

       Kenneth Bednarek of the USA set the fastest time with a 20.01 pass.

       In the first round of the women's 400 meters, American Allyson Felix, competing in her fifth and what she has said are her last Olympics, dominated her heat to kick off her Tokyo campaign in strong fashion.

       The 35-year-old Felix, who is competing at her first Olympics since giving birth in 2018, said the lack of fanfare and coronavirus restrictions have made the Tokyo Games different, but she said she will only focus on the race ahead of her.

       "It's nice to get going, it feels like I've been waiting forever, so felt good to get out there," the six-time Olympic gold medalist said. "Obviously I love the sport. It's been so much of my life, so this is why, knowing that this is my last time around, it means a lot to me."

       Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic clocked the fastest time of the heats with a 50.06, a time 0.44 faster than Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas.

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