Rai Benjamin

Rai Benjamin
Personal information
Born (1997-07-27) July 27, 1997 (age 26)
Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Hurdling, sprinting
College teamUSC Trojans (2018)
UCLA Bruins (2016, 2017)
TeamNike
Turned pro2018
Coached byJoanna Hayes
Quincy Watts
Caryl Smith Gilbert
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
  • 2020 Tokyo
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
World finals
  • 2019 Doha
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
  • 2022 Eugene
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
  • 2023 Budapest
  • 400 m hurdles,  Bronze
Personal bests

Rai Benjamin (born July 27, 1997) is an American professional 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. Benjamin won silver medals at his first Olympic Games in 2021 and 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.

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

Rai 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, but in Donetsk he represented Antigua and Barbuda in the 400 m hurdles.

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 400m 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. He was the fastest 2015 prep time in the United States in the 400m 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.

In 2017, the IAAF suspended all transfers of allegiance, meaning Benjamin could not represent the United States until transfers were reinstated in summer 2018. In October 2018, Benjamin's transfer request was approved, allowing him to represent the United States abroad and compete in USATF Championship events.

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. He became the 72nd person to break 20 seconds, in what is perhaps his third best event on the track.

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 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.

Personal life

Benjamin is the son of West Indies international and Antiguan cricketer Winston Benjamin.

Achievements

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

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, CA, 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, TX, 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, NY, United States February 13, 2021
300 m 32.35 New York, NY, United States February 8, 2020
200 m 20.34 College Station, TX, United States March 10, 2018 NR
4 × 400 m relay 3:00.77 College Station, TX, United States March 10, 2018 World best

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 x 400 m relay 2:55.70 SB
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 2nd 400 m hurdles 46.89
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 400 m hurdles 47.56
1st 4 x 400 m relay 2:57.31 WL

Circuit wins

National championships

Representing the UCLA Bruins (2016–2017), the USC Trojans (2018), and Nike (2019–)
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
NCAA Division I Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 400 m hurdles 47.02 WL PB CR
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
  • NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.

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
2021 46.17 44.97 20.16
2022 46.89 20.01

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:

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
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 x 400 m relay 1st
3:00.77
CR
4 x 100 m relay 1st
39.38
4 x 400 m relay 1st
2:59.00
2017 4 x 400 m relay 5th
3:12.50
4 x 400 m relay 4th
3:09.39
4 x 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
2016 400 m 7th
47.57
400 m hurdles
52.21
400 m hurdles 6th
49.82
DMR 7th
9:34.39
4 x 100 m relay 4th
40.22

This page was last updated at 2024-01-07 09:33 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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