Rai Benjamin blazed his way to gold on Friday night, electrifying Stade de France crowd with a 46.45 stunner in the men’s 400m hurdles.
The American took down Norway’s Karsten Warholm — the Tokyo champion — who took silver in 47.06 and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, who got the bronze in 47.26.
“To do it here means a lot. “I’ve been doing it all season,” Benjamin said. “To get it done it here when it really matters, when everyone said I couldn’t get it done, it means so much to me. This one, they can’t take away from me, at all. Mostly for me, this is about proving myself right.”
Benjamin, Warholm and do Santos have done their part in raising — and keeping — the profile of the men’s 400m hurdles in the must-see column of track and field. The same lineup took home medals in 2021 in Tokyo with Warholm grabbing the gold as Benjamin and dos Santos won silver and bronze.
However, Benjamin has noted that he was dealing with injuries in Tokyo and continued to struggle with ailments in 2022 and 2023.
Still, the trio will likely continue the winning trend in future competitors for years to come, likely shifting the order of who gets what medal.
Benjamin will be back in action on Saturday with the chance to win another gold in Paris as he joins Team USA’s 4x400m relay lineup. A win would give him his fourth Olympic medal.
He will have a day to soak in the moment of finally striking gold before it’s time to take the baton in the relay.
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