Rai Benjamin


Rai Benjamin is an American professional hurdler and sprinter specializing in the 400 m and 400 m hurdles. He is the joint third fastest man in history in the 400 m hurdles with a personal best time of 46.98 s, one of only four times in history under 47.00 s. He won a silver medal at his first World Championships in 2019 in the men's 400 m hurdles, and a gold medal in the relay at the same competition.
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 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.

Professional

Benjamin had stated he wanted to run for the USA and he was born in New York, but at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics, he represented Antigua in the 400 m hurdles.
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.

College

Benjamin is a 3-time NCAA Division I track champion; Benjamin earned 8 NCAA Division I All-America honors, 3 Pac-12 Conference titles and 1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title as a college student-athlete.
Benjamin earned two NCAA Division I All-America honors after his 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships where he placed 1st in the 400 meters hurdles in a college record time of 47.02 while being a part of a team that ran 2:59.00 to win the 4x400 m. The 47.02, at the time, equalled Edwin Moses for the #2 time in history.
Benjamin earned two NCAA Division I All-America honors after his 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships where he placed 3rd in the 200 m in a time of 20.34 while being a part of a team that ran 3:00.77 to win the 4x400 m in a college indoor track record time.
Benjamin earned two NCAA Division I All-America honors after his 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships where he placed 2nd in the 400 m hurdles in a time of 48.33 while being a part of a team that ran 39.89 in the 4x100 m.

Benjamin earned one NCAA Division I All-America honor after his 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships where he placed 6th in the 400 meters hurdles in a time of 49.82.
Benjamin earned one NCAA Division I All-America honor after his 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships where the team placed 7th that ran 9:34.39 in the Distance medley relay.

Prep and Personal life

Benjamin from Mount Vernon High School 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.
Benjamin 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 was the 2015 New Balance 400 meters National Champion and the 2015 New Balance Outdoor 400-meter hurdles National Champion.
Just after completing his second year, he represented Antigua and Barbuda at the 2013 World Youth Championships. Just after graduating, he won a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 2015 CARIFTA Games.
He is the son of international Antiguan cricketer Winston Benjamin.

Statistics

Information from IAAF profile or Track & Field Results Reporting System unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests

Seasonal bests

International championship results

National championship results

Circuit wins

400 m hurdles