Lai Benjamin has finally overcome that hurdle.
For a long time, the Mount Vernon native had finished second to the likes of Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, but on Friday she finally beat them both to win Olympic gold in the 400-meter hurdles.
Warholm, the Tokyo Olympic champion, was in lockstep with Benjamin until the final turn but then lost pace in the closing stages and the 27-year-old American pulled away to win the long-awaited gold medal.
When the dust settled, Benjamin was in 46.46 seconds, Warholm in 47.06 and Dos Santon in third in 47.26.
“He’s been waiting for revenge for three years,” the NBC announcer shouted. “Rye Benjamin is finally an Olympic champion!”
The American continued to improve throughout his time in Paris, winning his first heat in 48.82 seconds and taking first place in the semi-finals in 47.85 seconds.
His time of 46.46 seconds was his best time of the season.
2024 Paris Olympics
He stepped up a gear in his quest for gold, ripped off his race bib, shouted at the top of his lungs, “Let’s go!” onto the track and savored the moment.
The win was the United States’ 11th gold medal in track and field in Paris, and came a day after Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women’s 400-meter hurdles, marking the first time the United States has won gold in that event since 2016.
Benjamin has always been a loud cheerleader for his fellow Team USA athletes (he even lost his voice while cheering on Cole Hocker’s unexpected gold medal in the 1,500 meters), and now he’s finally given them a chance to give back.
