Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba finished sixth as American Rai Benjamin outstripped Norwegian arch-rival Karsten Warholm to win the Olympic 400m hurdles gold in Paris on Friday.
Samba – who finished fifth in Tokyo three years ago – could not match his rivals as he clocked 47.48 secs in a high-quality final. It was a competitive performance from the 28-year-old, whose progress has been hampered by recurring injuries.
Meanwhile, Benjamin timed 46.46 seconds as defending champion Warholm tied up badly towards the end of the race, claiming silver in 47.06sec. Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos took bronze, as he had done at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games, in 47.26sec.
“I can’t believe I actually finally did it,” said Benjamin, who won silver in Tokyo as well as two world silvers and a bronze. “It just happened at the right moment. My family is here, my friends are here. To do it in front of them means so much to me. I’m just so excited.”
Benjamin added: “I probably knew I had won five metres before the line. I thought I’d get dipped, but no one was there so I thought ‘wait a minute, hold on, I’m actually doing this’. And I did it. It’s just a great feeling.”
Warholm acknowledged that he had struggled down the home straight. “It was good the first 300 metres and then I messed up hurdle nine, but it’s also because it was a little bit lactic, and I couldn’t get the flow from eight to nine,” he said.
“Up until that point, I think I felt like it was a good race, I felt like I was in control of everything that I planned. But you can’t afford those mistakes at this level, and then it’s a silver medal. But Rai did a great job being composed and taking home the gold, so that’s what it is.”
Warholm smashed the world record to claim gold in Tokyo, clocking a stunning 45.94 seconds to win ahead of Benjamin and Dos Santos. But there was no repeat at a packed 69,000-capacity Stade de France. Warholm had come into the Paris Games under pressure, having lost to both Dos Santos and Benjamin this season.
