Rai Benjamin Finally Breaks Through for Gold in 400m Hurdles - Paris 2024 - Trackalerts.com, track and field news website

Rai Benjamin finally won the 400m hurdles when it really mattered, running down Karsten Warholm to earn that elusive global title in a time equaling his own season’s best and world lead of 46.46 to win Paris 2024 Olympic gold.

I got it done,” Benjamin said.

The American is responsible for some of the fastest times in this event’s history but had never been able to record the number one time during a global championship final. Whether it was in Tokyo 2021, where his unfathomable 46.17 was overshadowed by Warholm’s groundbreaking 45.94, or in several world championships losing to Warholm or even eventually beating him, but losing to Brazilian Alison Dos Santos’ 46.29 Championship Record (CR) and Area Record (AR) on home soil in Eugene for the 2022 World Championships.

At Last, Rai Benjamin Claims Elusive Olympic Gold in 400m Hurdles

“It has eluded me so long,” said Benjamin. He continued, “I don’t think I ever doubted it. It was more just staying patient and keep showing up every day and something has to shake.”

Benjamin copied his usual game plan of holding back until the second half of the race. He trailed his Norwegian counterpart for the first 250m before making his kick past, in which Warholm had absolutely no response this time around. In fact, as Benjamin gained separation, Warholm grazed the penultimate hurdle and never truly recovered.

Benjamin, Warholm, and Santos are the big three faces largely associated with this new renaissance in men’s 400m hurdling. All three men did not fail to deliver podium-worthy efforts on this Parisian Friday night. Warholm held on for silver (47.06), while lurking Dos Santos fought his way back for bronze (47.26).

Throw in Jabderrahaman Samba (47.98-6th) of Qatar, who was the first person since Kevin Young to break 47 seconds in 2018, who also made it back to the Olympic final three years after Tokyo, and you’ve got an unprecedented era in the one-lap hurdles that fortuitously is overlapping with an equally entertaining era in the women’s version.

Other notable participants were Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands (47.79-5th), Clément Ducos of France running (47.76-4th) in front of his home crowd, and perennial Olympic and World Championship finalist Rasmus Mägi of Estonia (52.23-7th). Jamaican Roshawn Clarke did not finish after qualifying for the final in 38.34. The Jamaican fell after crashing over the final hurdle.

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