Rai Benjamin Storms to Victory in Men's 400m Hurdles Final as Karsten Warholm Fizzles Out

The double threat, defending champion Karsten Warholm, Olympic champion Rai Benjamin and Olympic bronze medallist Alison Dos Santos, lined up for the men's 400m hurdles final of the World Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

Rai Benjamin has been phenomenal in his campaign so far, winning the heats and the semifinal and there was no doubt that he would be looking to extend the winning streak.

Meanwhile, Alison Dos Santos finished second in his heat and maintained the same place in the semifinal, finishing behind Rai Benjamin. Karsten Warholm, the 400m hurdles world record holder, finished third in his second and second in the semifinal.

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Rai Benjamin and Karsten Warholm were looking comfortable from the blocks and maintained the momentum until the third barrier, where the former Olympic champion struggled to maintain the momentum.

Despite hitting the barrier in the home straight, Rai Benjamin held on to win the race in 46.52 seconds as Alison Dos Santos was forced to settle for silver in 46.84 seconds.

His performance was an improvement since he finished a distant fifth at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary and settled for third at the Paris Olympic Games.

Abderrahman Samba of Qatar finished third in a time of 47.06 seconds, reclaiming the medal he won at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. He missed the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in Eugene and Budapest, respectively.

Ezekiel Nathaniel of Nigeria narrowly missed out on a podium place, clocking a national record time of 47.71 ahead of Karsten Warholm, who was a favourite to medal.

Rai Benjamin started his season with a win in the men's 300m hurdles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix before heading to the Diamond League Meeting in Norway where he finished second.

Rai Benjamin then won the Diamond League Meeting races in Stockholm and Paris, before finishing second at the Prefontaine Classic. He claimed top honours in the men's 400m hurdles at the US Championships then headed to the World Athletics Championships.