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Rai Benjamin

Rai Benjamin
Rai Benjamin at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene
Personal information
Born (1997-07-27) July 27, 1997 (age 27)
Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight77 kg (170 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryUnited States[2][3]
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Hurdling, sprinting
College teamUSC Trojans (2017, 2018)
UCLA Bruins (2016)
TeamNike[4]
Turned pro2018[4]
Coached byJoanna Hayes[3]
Quincy Watts[3]
Caryl Smith Gilbert[3]
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
  • 2020 Tokyo
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
  • 2024 Paris
  • 400 m hurdles,  Gold
World finals
  • 2019 Doha
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
  • 2022 Eugene
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
  • 2023 Budapest
  • 400 m hurdles,  Bronze
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 400 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo 400 m hurdles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Doha 4×400 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2023 Budapest 4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2019 Doha 400 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Eugene 400 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Budapest 400 m hurdles
Diamond League
First place 2023 400 m hurdles
Representing  Antigua and Barbuda
CARIFTA Games (U-20)
Silver medal – second place 2015 Basseterre 400 m

Rai Benjamin (born July 27, 1997)[7] is an American hurdler and sprinter specializing in the 400 m and 400 m hurdles. He is the second fastest man in history in the 400 m hurdles with a personal best time of 46.17 s. He won a silver medal at his first Olympic Games in 2021 and won the 400 m hurdles race at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Benjamin also won silver medals and at the World Championships in 2019 and 2022 in the men's 400 m hurdles, and gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay in 2019 and 2021.

In college, Benjamin ran for the UCLA Bruins and then the USC Trojans, where in early 2018 he was part of the team that set the world best time in the indoor 4 × 400 m relay with a time of 3:00.77. At the time, his relay split time of 44.35 s was the fastest ever recorded in an indoor race. In June of the same year he also helped set the NCAA record in the same event but outdoors, and ran what was at the time the second fastest 400 m hurdles race of all time in 47.02 s.

Early life and career

Rai Benjamin, from Mount Vernon High School (New York), just after completing his second year participated at the 2013 World Youth Championships held in Donetsk, Ukraine. He wanted to run for the USA, since he was born in New York,[8] but in Donetsk he represented Antigua and Barbuda in the 400 m hurdles.[9]

He won the 2015 New York Indoor State meet with a national-leading time of 33.17 in the 300 meters. He was a three-time New York State Public High School Athletic Association champion in the 400m hurdles. Benjamin won a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 2015 CARIFTA Games. He was the 2015 New Balance 400-meter hurdles national champion.[10] He ran the fastest 2015 prep time in the United States in the 400m hurdles with a time of 49.97, fastest 400 m indoor time in the country with a 46.59 and the third fastest outdoor time 46.19.

In 2017, the IAAF suspended all transfers of allegiance, meaning Benjamin could not represent the United States until transfers were reinstated in summer 2018.[11] In October 2018, Benjamin's transfer request was approved, allowing him to represent the United States abroad and compete in USATF Championship events.[2]

At the 2018 Meeting Areva in Paris, he ran 19.99 in the 200 meters to take .65 of a second off his previous personal best.[5][6][12] He became the 72nd person to break 20 seconds,[13] in what is perhaps his third best event on the track.

At the 2019 Mt. SAC Relays, that year at El Camino College in Torrance, California, Benjamin joined his training partner and previous college teammate, Michael Norman running the 400 meters. Benjamin ran his personal best of 44.31, the 50th best time in history[14] behind Norman's 43.45, which turned out to be the fastest 400 run in the 2019 season and tied him as the 4th fastest of all time.[15]

Personal life

Benjamin is the son of West Indies international and Antiguan cricketer Winston Benjamin.[8][16]

He co-hosts a podcast called "Beyond the Records" with Noah Lyles and Grant Holloway, which launched in December 2024. [17]


Achievements

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[7]

Personal bests

Surface Event Time Venue Date Notes
Outdoor 400 m hurdles 46.17 Tokyo, Japan August 3, 2021 North American record, 2nd all time
400 m 44.21 Los Angeles, United States April 8, 2023
200 m 19.99 Paris, France June 30, 2018 (−0.6 m/s wind)
100 m 10.03 Fort Worth, United States July 20, 2020 (+1.6 m/s wind)
4 × 400 m relay 2:55.70 Tokyo, Japan August 7, 2021 2021 world lead
Indoor 400 m 45.39 New York, United States February 13, 2021
300 m 32.35 New York, United States February 8, 2020
200 m 20.34 College Station, United States March 10, 2018 NR[note 1]
4 × 400 m relay 3:00.77 College Station, United States March 10, 2018 World best[note 2]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
Representing  Antigua and Barbuda
2013 World Youth Championships Donetsk, Ukraine 15th 400 m hurdles 52.36
2015 CARIFTA Games (U20) Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis 2nd 400 m 46.19 PB
World Relays Nassau, Bahamas – (h) 4 × 200 m relay DNF
Representing the  United States
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 2nd 400 m hurdles 47.66
1st 4 × 400 m relay 2:56.69 WL PB
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 2nd 400 m hurdles 46.17 PB AR, 2nd all time
1st 4 x 400 m relay 2:55.70 SB
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 2nd 400 m hurdles 46.89
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 400 m hurdles 47.56
1st 4 x 400 m relay 2:57.31 WL
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 1st 400 m hurdles 46.46
1st 4 x 400 m relay 2:54.43 OR

Circuit wins

National championships

Representing the UCLA Bruins (2016–2017), the USC Trojans (2018), and Nike (2019–)
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2016 NCAA Division I Championships Eugene, Oregon 6th 400 m hurdles 49.82 PB
2017 NCAA Division I Championships Eugene, Oregon 2nd 400 m hurdles 48.33 PB
22nd 4 × 100 m relay 39.89
2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships College Station, Texas 3rd 200 m 20.34 PB
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:00.77 WB[note 2]
NCAA Division I Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 400 m hurdles 47.02 WL PB CR[8]
1st 4 × 400 m relay 2:59.00 PB CR
2019 USATF Championships Des Moines, Iowa 1st 400 m hurdles 47.23
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 400 m hurdles 46.83 WL PB MR, 3rd all time
2022 USATF Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 400 m hurdles 47.04
2023 USATF Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 400 m hurdles 46.62
2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 400 m hurdles 46.46 WL MR
  • NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.[19][20]

Seasonal bests

Year 400 m hurdles 400 m 200 m
2013 53.95 49.55 22.38
2014 51.86 47.17 20.88
2015 49.97 46.19 21.09
2016 49.82 47.57 21.17
2017 48.33 45.72 20.64
2018 47.02 44.74 19.99
2019 46.98 44.31 —
2020 —
2021 46.17 44.97 20.16
2022 46.89 — 20.01
2023 46.39 44.21 —
2024 46.64 44.42 —

College career

Benjamin is a three-time NCAA Division I track champion. As a college student-athlete, Benjamin earned three Pac-12 conference titles, one Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title, and eight NCAA Division I All-America honors (five outdoor, three indoor).

Benjamin's All-America honors were for these accomplishments:

Year Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Indoor track and field		 NCAA
Indoor		 Pac-12 Conference
Outdoor		 NCAA Division I
Outdoor track and field
Representing the University of Southern California[21][22]
2018 200 m 3rd
20.34		 400 m hurdles 1st
48.46		 400 m hurdles 1st
47.02 CR
400 m 1st
45.94		 4 x 400 m relay 1st
3:00.77 CR		 4 x 100 m relay 1st
39.38		 4 x 400 m relay 1st
2:59.00
2017 4 x 400 m relay 5th
3:12.50		 4 x 400 m relay 4th
3:09.39		 4 x 100 m relay 22nd
39.89
400 6th
47.06		 400 m hurdles 1st
49.52		 400 m hurdles 2nd
48.33
200 m 3rd
21.09
Representing the University of California, Los Angeles[23][24]
2016 400 m 7th
47.57		 400 m hurdles
52.21		 400 m hurdles 6th
49.82
DMR 7th
9:34.39		 4 x 100 m relay 4th
40.22

Notes

  1. ^ a b For Antigua and Barbuda
  2. ^ a b Shared with Zach Shinnick, Ricky Morgan, and Michael Norman for the USC Trojans. Because Rai Benjamin was not cleared to represent the United States with his American teammates until after the race, the time was not recognized by the World Athletics as the official world record.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rai Benjamin". eurosport.com. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Sully, Kevin (October 4, 2018). "Rai Benjamin Cleared To Compete for the US". milesplit.com. FloSports, Inc. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Lindstrom, Sieg (January 19, 2019). "New Flag, New Beginning for Rai Benjamin". trackandfieldnews.com. Track & Field News. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Sully, Kevin (June 14, 2018). "Rai Benjamin is Now a Nike Athlete". flotrack.org. FloSports, Inc. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Rowbottom, Mike (July 1, 2018). "Norman and Benjamin the latest starts to shine in the IAAF Diamond League". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Zaccardi, Nick (June 30, 2018). "Abderrahman Samba runs second-fastest 400m hurdles ever (video)". nbcsports.com. NBC. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Rai BENJAMIN – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Burke, Timothy (June 8, 2018). "Rai Benjamin Runs 47.02 400m Hurdles, Tied For Second-Fastest in Human History". deadspin.com. Deadspin. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  9. ^ "400m hurdles (84.0 cm) Boys semi-final results".
  10. ^ track ucla mount vernon rai benjamin
  11. ^ "Transfer of Allegiance".
  12. ^ "2018 Paris Diamond League 200 m". Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  13. ^ "200 Metres - men - senior - outdoor".
  14. ^ "400 Metres - men - senior - outdoor".
  15. ^ "400 Metres - men - senior - outdoor".
  16. ^ Levy, Leighton (October 4, 2018). "Antiguan star athlete Rai Benjamin switches allegiance to USA". sportsmax.tv. SportsMaxTV. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  17. ^ "Beyond The Records Podcast". YouTube. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  18. ^ Joe Fleming (March 12, 2018). "World, collegiate records highlight NCAA indoor track and field championships". usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  19. ^ "RAI BENJAMIN UCLA". tfrrs.org. Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "RAI BENJAMIN USC". tfrrs.org. Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "Rai Benjamin at USC". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  22. ^ Rai Benjamin USC profile University of Southern California. June 30, 2018
  23. ^ Rai Benjamin UCLA track results TFRRS. June 30, 2018
  24. ^ Rai Benjamin UCLA profile University of California Los Angeles. June 30, 2018
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