Benjamin Earns Gold, Yeargin and John Bronze Medals During T&F Final Day At Paris Olympics

Track & Field | August 10, 2024

Rai Benjaman anchored USA’s men’s 4x400m relay team to a gold medal and Nicole Yeargin and Yemi John earned bronze medals with Great Britain’s women’s 4x400m relay team to closeout track and field at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at Stade de France in Paris, France today (Aug. 10). 

Current and former Trojan students won nine medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, five gold, one silver and three bronze. The nine track and field medals won are tied for the second-most medals won by the Trojans in a single Olympics (also nine at 2016 Rio Games), trailing only the 13 won by Trojans at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  This was the sixth consecutive Summer Olympics in which a USC track and field athlete earned at least one gold medal and a Trojan track and field athlete has won at least one medal in every Olympics since 1912.

• Rai Benjamin (USC, 2019) anchored USA’s 4x400m relay team to the gold medal, winning with an Olympic-record time of 2:54.43.  That time is also the fourth-fastest time ever run by a men’s 4x400m relay team.  Benjamin’s split of 43.13 was the fastest among the American runners and the second-fastest anchor leg in the final.  Benjamin, who won the men’s 400m hurdles title yesterday, becomes the first male athlete to ever win a gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the Olympics and then anchor his 4x400m relay team to a gold medal.
• Nicole Yeargin (USC, 2021) earned a bronze medal with the Great Britain women’s 4x400m relay which placed third with a national-record time of 3:19.72.  Yeargin ran the third leg for Great Britain.  Yemi John (USC, 2026) also earned a bronze medal as she ran the leadoff leg for Great Britain in yesterday’s first round.  Kyra Constantine (USC, 2021) ran the third leg for Canada which placed sixth in the final with a season-best time of 3:22.01.

Current  or graduated Trojans earning medals in track and field at the 2024 Paris Olympics were: Rai Benjamin (Gold – M-400m H, Gold – M-4x400m), Aaron Brown (Gold – M-4x100m), Anna Cockrell (Silver – W-400m H), Andre De Grasse (Gold – M-4x100m), Yemi John (Bronze – W-4x400m), TeeTee Terry (Gold – W-4x100m), Nicole Yeargin (Bronze – Mixed 4x400m, Bronze – W-4x400m).