Rai Benjamin emerges triumphant in fiercest track battle as he defeats Karsten Warholm for 400m hurdles gold at Paris Olympics 2024

By Zahid Rashid Dar

Modified Aug 09, 2024 21:18 GMT

Rai Benjamin stormed to victory in the men's 400m hurdles at the ongoing Paris Olympics, clocking a blistering 46.46s. He beat his biggest rivals, Karsten Warholm and Alison Dos Santos, for the first time in a major international competition en route to his maiden Olympic gold.

Benjamin has been incredibly consistent over the last four to five years, winning medals at each major international competition. In the 400-meter hurdles, he won three consecutive silver medals at the World Championships in 2019, 2022, and 2023.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 27-year-old had to settle for silver behind Karsten Warholm. However, Benjamin had a remarkable start to his 2024 Olympic year campaign as he produced some impressive performances, including a victory over the Norwegian and Brazilian Alison dos Santos at the Paris Diamond League earlier in the year.

Benjamin was a slight favorite going into the finals, which he eventually dominated. The American had a great start and took the lead early in the race. For the whole 400 meters, he appeared to be virtually unopposed. Although Warholm and dos Santos looked to be closing in before the last hurdle, Benjamin flew away after the last jump.

The 27-year-old matched his season best timing of 46.46s to win the gold medal. Warholm settled for silver in 47.06s, while dos Santos runner took bronze in 47.26s. France’s Clement Ducos was fourth in 47.76s, while young Jamaican prospect Roshawn Clarke registered a DNF.

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Rai Benjamin feels he can break the 400m hurdles world record

Paris 2024 Olympic Games - Day 14 - Athletics - (Source: Getty)

The 400m hurdles final at the Tokyo Olympics was arguably one of the greatest finals in the history of the event. Karsten Warholm ran a world record of 45.94s, while Rai Benjamin settled for silver with the second-fastest time in history, 46.17.

At the time, Benjamin claimed that he has the potential to break the world record.

"I think it could be a lot faster in my opinion,” he said when the subject was broached in an interview with Olympics.com.

“I feel like I’m the one who could definitely do that if I figure out my life, if I figure out how to run this event a lot more efficiently than I have in the past few years,” he added.

Although his performance this time wasn't as fast as his effort at the Tokyo Games due to the wet outfield, Rai Benjamin secured his first gold medal after four consecutive silvers over the last four major championships. However, he had won a gold medal in the men's 4x400m relay at the Tokyo Olympics.