Rai Benjamin created history in Paris. After winning the gold medal in the 400m hurdles, Benjamin decided to shoulder the responsibility of heading Team USA home in the 4x400m relays. Pitted against one of the staunch opponents, Benjamin’s USA faced off against Lestile Tegobo’s Botswana. While it was expected to be a clash of the titans, Botswana held a slight edge over the Americans. But that would all change when it was time for the baton to be passed on to Benjamin. 

Running at lightning speed, Rai Benjamin ensured that his team secured the second-fastest 4x400m relay finish in history. Clocking a spectacular time of 2:54.43, Benjamin and USA clinched the gold medal with  Botswana finishing second with 2:54.53. And after getting etched into the Olympic history books, Rai Benjamin has analyzed the superb performance of his team. 

Rai Benjamin reveals secret to USA’s gold medal 

The Olympic gold medalist recently sat down in an exclusive interview on the Night Cap podcast. When asked about whether he dreamt of achieving the fast timing, Rai Benjamin looked utterly confident. In fact, Benjamin stated that the team could have attained their goal in the last edition only. Unfortunately, despite having all the pieces, it did not come together for them the last time.

Benjamin also opined that it was about who was running in what position that determined the outcome. While speaking about the same, Benjamin also highlighted his role in the race. He said, “It just all came down to what my leg would be. I actually wanted to run second this meet because I knew if I ran second, I would run 42.8 or 42.9.” Benjamin then went on to say that he was determined to put on a show in Paris. 

Speaking about his confidence in running fast, the gold medalist stated that he initially felt a tinge of doubt. However, when the scoreboard flashed the final score, Benjamin could not help but smile at his good deed. The star Olympian mentioned that he felt proud: “I turned in the stands, and I just started smiling. I’m like, yeah, this is about to be crazy.” The beaming athlete definitely knows a thing or two about sticking up for his teammates, as was evident when he said, “When I got the stick in my head, I’m like, I can’t let these boys down.” Well, another man was smiling after Rai Benjamin had secured two golds for himself. It was none other than his father, Winston Benjamin.

Winston Benjamin expresses his pride in his son’s accomplishments 

Winston Benjamin, the former West Indian cricketer, cannot be more proud of his son. After losing out on the gold to Karsten Warholm in 2020, Rai beat him this time to clock 46.46s in the 400m hurdles. And adding the icing on the cake was the 4x400m relay gold that made Winston bask in his son’s glory. Expressing his elation towards his son’s success, Winston said to Cricbuzz, “The Olympics are like the World Cup final for me… I’m not an individual who shows a lot of emotion but this was a surreal moment. I’ve never felt like this.”

Winston further stated that the West Indians were celebrating Rai Benjamin’s victory just like the people in the US were. Recalling Rai’s childhood, Winston said that he has a diverse sporting background. While he was free to choose any sporting discipline he wanted, Rai initially played as a quarterback in American football. Gradually, Rai shifted to track and field, and the rest is history. Summing up Rai Benjamin’s years of hard work, his father said, “Seeing him win the ultimate prize in the sport of his choice makes me very happy.” Thus, having already made history, the future career path of Rai Benjamin looks incredibly bright, with lots of more shining accolades to follow.