American defeats defending champion and world record-holder with real show of strength in Paris
The USAâs dominance of the hurdles events at Paris 2024 continued on Friday night (August 9) as Rai Benjamin dethroned Norwayâs Olympic champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm in the menâs 400m hurdles.
The rain might have put paid to any thoughts of Benjamin repeating the world record-breaking feats of his compatriot Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone the previous evening, but the man who has three global silvers to his name (one of which came at the Tokyo Games in 2021) upgraded to gold with the most convincing of wins.
He clocked 46.46 â the fastest time in the world this year â to leave Warholm trailing with 47.06, while Brazilâs Alison Dos Santos (47.26) completed a familiar top three when it comes to this event. The order, however, is a little more unusual than normal.
(Getty)
âI canât believe I actually finally did it,â said Benjamin, bronze medallist at last yearâs World Championships. âIt just happened at the right moment.
âI thought Iâd get dipped, but no-one was there so I thought: âWait a minute, hold on, Iâm actually doing thisâ. And I did it.
âTo get it done it here when it really matters, when everyone said I couldnât get it done, it means so much to me. This one, they canât take away from me, at all. Mostly for me, this is about proving myself right.
âIt does suck to see people doubting your abilities, not knowing the full story of whatâs going on. Iâve been battling injury, thereâs a lot of stuff that happens off the track that nobody really sees. Just to come out here and have everything smooth means a lot.â
The expected close battle between the worldâs top three appeared to be unfolding, with Benjamin slightly ahead of Warholm, but an error coming off the final bend that left the world champion stretching for the ninth hurdle proved to be crucial.
With Benjamin pulling away, the Norwegian then had to worry about holding off a charging Dos Santos in lane three.
âI think it was a good first 300m, then I messed up hurdle nine because I was a little bit lactic and I could not get the flow from eight to nine. At that point, I felt like it was a good race and I was in control of everything that I planned. But you cannot afford those mistakes at this level.
âRai did a great job being composed and bringing home the gold. At this level everybody says they deserve it but, whoever takes it, he is the better man on the day.â
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