Five years ago, two stories began to take shape on the world stage. On a summer night at Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Karsten Warholm became the fastest hurdler in history, breaking the 400m hurdles world record and ushering in a new era for the discipline. In the same year, Zeekr was launched, beginning a new chapter for premium electric mobility.
Today, the two leaders in pioneering performance come together. Norwegian Olympic gold medallist and 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm has signed as a Zeekr Europe ambassador, with both athlete and brand marking five years since their 2021 breakthroughs.
The Partnership
The signing builds on Zeekr Europe's partnership with the Wanda Diamond League as Official Mobility Partner for the 2026 season, and adds one of athletics' most recognisable European names to the brand's growing presence across the continent. The announcement comes ahead of Warholm's home Diamond League appearance at the Bislett Games in Oslo on 10 June - on the same track where he first broke the world record almost exactly five years ago.
Throughout the year, Warholm will feature in a series of exclusive content that explores the parallels between elite sport and advanced automotive performance.
45.94 seconds - 400m hurdles
World Record
Bislett Games, Oslo, July 2021
Record Set
April 2021
Zeekr Founded
666,741 + to date
Vehicles Delivered
45, including 16 in Europe
Global Markets
Brussels, 4-5 September 2026
Diamond League Season Finale
Warholm's Record-Breaking Career
Reigning Diamond League Champion Warholm first broke the 400m hurdles world record at the Bislett Games in July 2021, before lowering his own time again at the Tokyo Olympics later that summer. His mark of 45.94 seconds still stands as the world record today.
The five years since have established him as one of the defining figures in global athletics, his career built on explosive speed, technical precision and a focus on the small margins that separate the best from the rest - values that align closely with Zeekr's own approach to building premium electric vehicles.
Zeekr's Five-Year Journey
Zeekr's own story began the same year as Warholm's world record. Unveiled in April 2021, the brand delivered its first vehicles later that year and has since become one of the fastest-growing names in premium electric mobility, with vehicles now sold across 45 markets globally, including 16 in Europe.
The ambassadorship with Warholm comes during a milestone year for both athlete and brand, as they celebrate five years since defining moments in their respective journeys.
Diamond League 2026
Across the 2026 European leg of the Diamond League calendar, a fleet of Zeekr vehicles will support seven meetings, providing athlete transfers, team logistics and media operations across each host city. The season finale takes place in Brussels on 4 and 5 September.
| City | Event |
|---|---|
| Rome | Diamond League Meeting |
| Stockholm | Diamond League Meeting |
| Oslo | Bislett Games |
| Paris | Diamond League Meeting |
| Monaco | Diamond League Meeting |
| Lausanne | Diamond League Meeting |
| Zurich | Diamond League Meeting |
| Brussels | Season Finale (4-5 September) |
The fleet supporting these events includes the Zeekr X, Zeekr 7X and the all-new Zeekr 7GT.
Reactions and Quotes
Karsten Warholm: "Performance at this level has never been just about one race. It is about everything around it - the preparation, the precision, and the partners who help build a career. Zeekr lives at that level of detail. Joining them now, in a year that marks five years for both of us since 2021, with a season that points towards the World Championships and ultimately Los Angeles, feels like the right partnership at the right time."
Lothar Schupet, CEO, Zeekr Europe: "Karsten represents everything we admire in elite performance and fundamental principles of Zeekr: precision, consistency and a relentless commitment to excellence. To welcome him as a Zeekr ambassador in a year that marks five years for both the athlete and the brand is a moment of real meaning for us. His values align closely with ours, and his story will help us bring the brand even closer to athletics fans across Europe."
Petr Stastny, CEO, Diamond League: "Karsten is one of the most exceptional athletes in our series, and partnerships like this strengthen the connection between our athletes and the brands that support our competitions. We are delighted to see Zeekr, as our Official Mobility Partner, building those relationships in a way that benefits our athletes and our fans alike. I'm excited to see what the future holds for Zeekr and this unique partnership."
About Zeekr
Zeekr is the global premium electric mobility technology brand from Geely Auto Group, combining the power of a global automotive giant with a European soul. Zeekr aims to create a fully integrated user ecosystem with innovation as a standard. The brand utilizes Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) and develops its own battery technologies, battery management systems, electric motor technologies, and electric vehicle supply chain.
Zeekr operates its R&D centres and design studios in Gothenburg, Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Since Zeekr began delivering vehicles in October 2021, the brand has delivered more than 666,741 vehicles to date.
Zeekr Europe is currently active in: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. For more information, visit zeekr.eu.
About the Wanda Diamond League
The Wanda Diamond League is the elite one-day meeting series in athletics. The series unites the biggest names in track and field in some of the world's most iconic arenas, crossing four continents and 15 cities over the course of the season.
In 2025, it welcomed 400,000 spectators to some of the planet's most iconic arenas and was broadcast on television in 170 different countries. It also reached an online fanbase of five million social media followers worldwide, notching up more than one billion impressions and more than 900 million video views across all platforms.
The 2026 season started in Shanghai/Keqiao on 16 May and ends in Brussels on 4-5 September.
