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"The whole NBA was tuned in" - Rai Benjamin explains how Noah Lyles 'changed the game' for track and field
2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist, Rai Benjamin, recently elaborated on the impact that his fellow sprinter and friend, Noah Lyles, has had on the sport of track and field. Benjamin also hinted at the entire NBA scene that arose before the 2024 quadrennial event due to the bold remarks Lyles had made.
Lyles had highly criticized the NBA winners for terming themselves "world champions" after the US basketball team failed to clinch a medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
These remarks by the Florida track and field athlete not only sparked controversy among basketball fans but also encouraged them to tune in to Lyles' performance during the quadrennial event to assess how the 27-year-old would fare.
Benjamin has spoken openly about the significant influence Lyles has had on the discipline over the past few years. Here's what he said during an ESPN show:
"Listen I think to be fair, a lot of people came up through the ranks such as Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake but I think the level of attention that track and field now has is because of their series sprint and because of who Noah is as a person."
"His (Noah) ability to bring the masses outside the track and field like the entire NBA environment where I feel like they were really tuned in to see what would happen," the 27-year-old added.
During the interview, Benjamin also applauded Lyles for elevating the sport and increasing its visibility in recent years
Rai Benjamin clinched two gold medals at the Paris Olympics 2024
Rai Benjamin finished the 2024 Paris Olympics as the sole male track and field athlete to claim two gold medals. The 27-year-old secured a gold medal in the individual 400m hurdles event and also played a crucial role in the 4x400m relay team's gold medal victory.
In the 400m hurdles event, Benjamin was in a close contest with the defending champion, Karsten Warholm, during the race. However, the New York native ultimately succeeded in holding off Warholm and clinching his first-ever individual gold medal with a run time of 46.46 seconds.
In the relay event, Rai Benjamin played the anchor role, running the fourth lap of the race. He took 43.18 seconds to complete his lap, crossing the finish line with a combined race time of 2:54.43 and securing the gold medal. This marked Benjamin's second gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
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