Rai Benjamin

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 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.

Rai Benjamin

Rai Benjamin at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene
Personal information
Born	(1997-07-27) July 27, 1997 (age 27) Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1]
Weight	170 lb (77 kg)[1]
Sport
Country	United States[2][3]
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Hurdling, sprinting
College team	USC Trojans (2017, 2018) UCLA Bruins (2016)
Team	Nike[4]
Turned pro	2018[4]
Coached by	Joanna Hayes[3] Quincy Watts[3] Caryl Smith-Gilbert[3]
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	2020 Tokyo 400 m hurdles,  Silver 2024 Paris 400 m hurdles,  Gold
World finals	2019 Doha 400 m hurdles,  Silver 2022 Eugene 400 m hurdles,  Silver 2023 Budapest 400 m hurdles,  Bronze
Personal bests	400 m hurdles: 46.17 AR (Tokyo 2021) 400 m: 44.21 (Los Angeles 2023) 200 m: 19.99 (Paris 2018)[5][6] 100 m: 10.03 (Fort Worth 2020) Indoors 400 m: 45.39i (Staten Island 2021) 200 m: 20.34i NR[note 1] (College Station 2018)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo 4 × 400 m relay 2024 Paris 400 m hurdles 2024 Paris 4 × 400 m relay 2020 Tokyo 400 m hurdles World Championships 2019 Doha 4 × 400 m relay 2023 Budapest 4 × 400 m relay 2019 Doha 400 m hurdles 2022 Eugene 400 m hurdles 2023 Budapest 400 m hurdles Diamond League 2023 400 m hurdles Representing  Antigua and Barbuda CARIFTA Games (U-20) 2015 Basseterre 400 m

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.

In 2017, the IAAF suspended all transfers of allegiance, meaning Benjamin could not represent the United States until transfers were reinstated in summer 2018.^[11] 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][12] He became the 72nd person to break 20 seconds,^[13] 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^[14] 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.^[15]

Personal life

Benjamin is the son of West Indies international and Antiguan cricketer Winston Benjamin.^[8][16]

He co-hosts a podcast called "Beyond the Records" with Noah Lyles and Grant Holloway, which launched in December 2024. ^[17]

Benjamin is an avid cyclist, frequently cycling around Los Angeles and to and from hurdling practice at UCLA.^{[citation needed]}

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

Circuit wins

• Diamond League (400 m hurdles)
  • Rome: 2019
  • Stanford: 2019
  • Doha: 2021, 2023
  • Eugene: 2023
  • Monaco: 2024
• World Indoor Tour
  • Boston: 2019, 2025 (300 m)

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[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

• NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.^[19][20]

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
2023	46.39	44.21	—
2024	46.64	44.42	—

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[21][22]
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[23][24]
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

1. For Antigua and Barbuda
2. 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.^[18]