Rai Benjamin
American sprinter and hurdler (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 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.
United States[2][3]
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
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 400 m 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 400 m 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.
Professional career
Benjamin turned professional in 2018.[11] In 2017, the IAAF suspended all transfers of allegiance, meaning Benjamin could not represent the United States until transfers were reinstated in summer 2018.[12] 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][13] He became the 72nd person to break 20 seconds.[14]
2019-2021: World championship medalist, Olympic debut, number 2 all-time
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[15] 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.[16]
At the Weltklasse Zürich in August 2019, Benjamin became just the fourth person in history to break 47 seconds for the 400 metres hurdles, with a time of 46.98 seconds, as he finished second in the race behind Karsten Warholm, who set a new European record.[17] Competing at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Benjamin won the silver medal in the 400 m hurdles, in 47.66 seconds, finishing behind Warholm, who was also defending champion.[18] At the championships, Benjamin later won a gold medal as part of the American men's 4 × 400 m relay, running the anchor leg alongside Fred Kerley, Michael Cherry and Wil London.[19]
In 2021, Benjamin ran a personal best 46.83 at the US Olympic Trials, and made his Olympic debut at the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. He won the silver medal in the 400 m hurdles, running 46.17 seconds, not just a personal best time and American record, but the second quickest time ever, beaten into silver only by Karsten Warholm's world record. Some asked if it was "The Greatest Race Ever", with Alison dos Santos third in 46.72, a time they would have been the world record five weeks earlier. Benjamin’s time would have marked a 0.53 second improvement on the previous world record and would have been the largest improvement on the record in 53 years, but for Warholm's run. Such was the improvement in recorded times by the three medalists, only Kevin Young apart from Benjamin and Dos Santos had come within a second of Warholm's time.[20] At the Games, Benjamin later won a gold medal in the men's 4 × 400 m relay with Michael Norman, Michael Cherry and Bryce Deadmon.[11][21]
2022-2023: Further World Championships medals
Benjamin also won a silver medal at his home 2022 World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, running 46.89 seconds behind Alison Dos Santos with Warholm nursing an injury in seventh.[11] Speaking of his competitive rivalry with Warholm and Dos Santos, Benjamin said, "we’ve run so fast and we’re continuing to take the events to new heights…We have to keep it going, keep running fast, keep competing well, and keep giving people the hope for the excitement to come in the future".[22]
By the summer of 2023, Benjamin had tweaked his racing pattern between hurdles, aiming for a longer stride cadence for tempo, producing more speed leading into the back straight finishing kick.[11] In July, Benjamin won a fourth-straight national title in the 400m hurdles at the 2023 U.S. Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon., running a season's best 46.62, to take the win ahead of CJ Allen.[23]
In August, he won the bronze medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, running 47.56 seconds behind world-record holder Karsten Warholm and a surprise silver medalist in Kyron McMaster.[24] At the championships, he won the gold medal as the anchor leg of the 4 × 400 m relay alongside Quincy Hall, Vernon Norwood and Justin Robinson.[25][26]
Benjamin had his best performance of the season last. He won the 2023 Diamond League final at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic on 16 September in 46.39 seconds ahead of Warholm, McMaster and Dos Santos. It was the fourth fastest time in history and the fastest time of 2023 worldwide, as well as a Prefontaine and Diamond League record.[27]
2024: Unbeaten year, Olympic champion
Benjamin went through 2024 unbeaten in the 400 metres hurdles.[28] He ran a world-leading time of 46.46 seconds to win the US Olympic Trials, and ran 46.67 seconds to win against his rivals Karsten Warholm and Alison Dos Santos at the 2024 Diamond League meeting Herculis, in Monaco. He became the 2024 Olympic champion in Paris, France in August, running the 400 m hurdles in 46.46 to equal his own world-leading mark. It was his first individual gold medal having earned a podium spot at the previous four global championships, with Warholm behind him in silver, and Dos Santos in bronze.[29] He became a double Paris Olympic gold medalist in the final event of the Games as a member of the American 4 × 400 m relay team retaining the title in 2:54.43, a new Olympic record, racing alongside Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood and Bryce Deadmon.[30][31]
2025: World champion 400m hurdles
After opening 2025 on 2 February with a victory in an indoors 300m in Boston, Benjamin did not compete again until 12 June in Oslo at the 2025 Bislett Games in 300m hurdles, and then three days later, a 400m hurdles in Stockholm at the 2025 BAUHAUS-galan. Those marked his first time racing at those European events, and his latest outdoor debut since the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season.[32] He won the event in Stockholm ahead of Warholm and Dos Santos, and finished runner-up to Warholm in Oslo, running a personal best for the 300m hurdles of 33.22 seconds.[33][34] That month, he also recorded a win in the 2025 Diamond League at the Meeting de Paris.[35]
Competing at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2025, he won the global gold medal for the second consecutive year in the 400 m hurdles, running a season's best time of 46.52 seconds to win from Alison dos Santos and Abderrahman Samba of Qatar. However, Benjamin was initially disqualified because he clipped his final hurdle causing it to dislodge, and its adjusted position came into the adjoining lane of Ezekiel Nathaniel, who was following behind. However, as it did not appear to affect the Nigerian's run or the order of the finishers, Benjamin, who had already posed for pictures trackside with a golden crown, was reinstated.[36] On the final day of the championships he won a silver medal running in the final of the men's 4 × 400 m relay as the American team finished runner-up to Botswana.[37]
Personal life
Benjamin is the son of West Indies international and Antiguan cricketer Winston Benjamin.[8][38] His childhood was split between Antigua and New York, before he permanently settled in New York for high school.[39]
Benjamin co-hosts a podcast called "Beyond the Records" with Noah Lyles and Grant Holloway, which launched in December 2024.[40][11]
Benjamin is an avid cyclist, frequently cycling around Los Angeles and to and from hurdling practice at UCLA.[41]
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 | 32.21 | Boston, Massachusetts | February 2, 2025 | ||
| 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 × 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 × 400 m relay | 2:57.31 | WL | |||
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 46.46 | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:54.43 | OR | |||
| 2025 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 46.52 | |
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:57.83 | ||||
Circuit wins
- Diamond League (400 m hurdles)
- World Indoor Tour
- Boston: 2019, 2025 (300 m)
National championships
| 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 |
| 2025 | USATF Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 1st | 400 m hurdles | 46.89 |
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 | N/a | ||
| 2021 | 46.17 | 44.97 | 20.16 |
| 2022 | 46.89 | — | 20.01 |
| 2023 | 46.39 | 44.21 | — |
| 2024 | 46.64 | 44.42 | — |
| 2025 | 46.54 | — | — |
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:
- 2016 indoor, as part of a seventh-place team finish in the indoors distance medley relay, with a time of 9:34.9.
- 2016 outdoor, for a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 49.82.
- 2017 outdoor, for a second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 48.33, and as part of a team finish of 39.89 in the 4 × 100 m relay.
- 2018 indoor, for a third-place finish in the 200 m, and as part of a team that set a college indoor track record of 3:00.77 in the 4 × 400 m relay.
- 2018 outdoor, as part of a team that won the 4 × 400 m relay in 2:59.00, and for a college record time of 47.02 in the 400 m hurdles. His time equalled Edwin Moses's for the second fastest time in history.
| 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[45][46] | ||||
| 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 × 400 m relay 1st 3:00.77 CR | 4 × 100 m relay 1st 39.38 | 4 × 400 m relay 1st 2:59.00 | |
| 2017 | 4 × 400 m relay 5th 3:12.50 | 4 × 400 m relay 4th 3:09.39 | 4 × 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[47][48] | ||||
| 2016 | 400 m 7th 47.57 | 400 m hurdles 52.21 | 400 m hurdles 6th 49.82 | |
| DMR 7th 9:34.39 | 4 × 100 m relay 4th 40.22 | |||
Notes
- 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.[42]
