WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA, May 17–18 — Rai Benjamin is a man on a mission. Even though the four-time U.S. 400 hurdles champion has won an Olympic silver and two World Championship medals in his specialty, none have lodged golden memories.
He began his 2024 campaign with a more than respectable 44.42 400 victory at Mt. SAC. The next stop would be Westwood on an oval where Benjamin once competed as a UCLA Bruin before transferring to USC.
Here, it was not going to be a walkover, as he would have to contend with Kyron McMaster from the British Virgin Islands, who finished one place in front of Benjamin for silver in the Budapest 400H final.
Americans would occupy four lanes, with Aldrich Bailey in 2, Khallifah Rosser in 4, Benjamin in 5 and Trevor Bassitt in 8. Jamaica would field 3 spots, with Jaheel Hyde in 3, Roshawn Clarke in 6 and Malik James-King in 9. Costa Rica’s Gerald Drummond started in 1 and McMaster was in Benjamin’s sights in 7.
At the gun, McMaster and Benjamin got the best starts and went over the first hurdle even. Down the backstretch Benjamin made gains with every stride and by hurdle 5 had a clear advantage.
Going round the bend, Benjamin extended his lead and by hurdle 7 had passed McMaster and headed to the home straight with a 10m lead. McMaster’s early pace had taken its toll, and he began to fade and was passed by Clarke at hurdle 9.
A seemingly unpressed Benjamin crossed the line in 46.64, the 9th-fastest all-time mark, bettering Alison Dos Santos’ 46.86 world lead. Clarke finished 1.47 back for 2nd in 48.11, followed by McMaster (48.51), Drummond (48.97) and Bassitt (49.01).
When asked by NBC’s Lewis Johnson about opening his season with the world lead, a contented Benjamin said, “It feels great. I ran fast a couple weeks ago in the 4, so I knew the strength was there. So, it means a lot to open up in 46.6 and just excited to carry this to next week.”
A few minutes later, Benjamin reflected that he had a larger goal in mind, as he put his win in perspective: “I’m not trying to think too much on it because the Olympics aren’t today. They’re in August, so just keep the ball rolling and focus on running well there. This one was great but I’m already forgetting about it.”
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