American sprinter Rai Benjamin beat world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos in the 400-meter hurdles final to win a gold medal at Paris Olympics on Friday.
Benjamin clocked 46.46 seconds in the race, finishing several paces ahead of Warholm (47.06) and Dos Santos (47.26) – two of the world’s fastest men. Despite landing awkwardly after coming off the eighth hurdle, Benjamin still cruised to the top spot.
Benjamin took silver behind Warholm when the Norwegian set a world record in the Tokyo Games three years ago. This is the second Olympic gold for 27-year-old Benjamin, who was part of the 4×400 relay team that won in Tokyo.
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Earlier in the day, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a world record in the women’s 400 meter hurdles. McLaughlin-Levrone ran 50.37 seconds, breaking her own previous world record of 50.65 seconds that she set back in June at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
And thanks in part to a thunderous effort in rainy conditions from Sha’Carri RichardsonUSA too secured a gold medal Friday in the women’s 4×100 relay.
