American 400m hurdles sensation Rai Benjamin is sure to be outdone again this time.
Three years after losing the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics to Karsten Warholm’s world record time of 45.94 seconds, Benjamin took revenge on his Norwegian rival in Paris to become Olympic champion with a stunning 46.17 seconds. Rain prevented a new world record from being broken, but Benjamin’s time of 46.46 seconds tied the fifth fastest time in history and won in a landslide victory.
Warholm had to settle for silver in 47.06 seconds, while Brazil’s Alison dos Santos repeated her bronze medal win in Tokyo with a time of 47.26 seconds.
The rivalry between Warholm and Benjamin has consistently favored Warholm at major championships. He beat Benjamin at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Even when Warholm failed to medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Benjamin lost the gold medal to Allison dos Santos. After three silver medals, one bronze and a few years in the 1990s, Buffalo BillsBenjamin, from Mount Vernon, New York, pushed through the pain to finally win her first individual gold medal.
There have been signs Warholm’s dominance has been waning recently. After winning last year’s world title, he lost consecutive Diamond League races at the end of the year to Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands (who placed fifth in Friday’s final) and Ry Benjamin. In 2024, Warholm lost to dos Santos in his native Norway, while Benjamin beat both players in Monaco just before the Olympics began.
Benjamin’s win may signal that, seven years after Warholm’s first world title, we’re witnessing a generational shift. Benjamin came into Friday’s final with an unbeaten 2024 record and the best time of the season, far ahead of the two fastest men in history.
Benjamin will have a chance to add another medal to his gold medal collection on Saturday, the final day of track and field at the Paris Olympics, when he competes in the 4×400-meter relay. He’s an anchor for the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2019 and 2023 world championships, and is on pace to become the most decorated U.S. team in track and field history and looks very likely to bring home a gold medal.
