Tokyo — In a wild twist at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, USA’s Rai Benjamin surged to 400m hurdles gold, only to be disqualified and then reinstated as champion within minutes. His winning time was a blazing 46.52 seconds, earning him his long-awaited first world title after years of near-misses.
Benjamin’s heartbreak came when he clipped the final hurdle, which tipped into the path of Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel, initially pushing Benjamin out of the medals on a controversial DQ. As judges deliberated, Alison dos Santos of Brazil was momentarily elevated to gold, but after a successful appeal, Benjamin’s title was restored, justifying the sentiment, “Wouldn’t be the World Championships without a little drama,” as Benjamin quipped.
Defending champion Karsten Warholm placed a distant fifth in a shocking finish, and Nathaniel himself admitted Benjamin deserved gold, stating the incident didn’t affect his run. The event took place at Tokyo’s Japan National Stadium, at the heart of a vibrant world meet running September 13–21.
Quote of the night? Jessica Ennis-Hill, watching for BBC, said, “That seems insane, he didn’t hit it on purpose, it didn’t affect the standings of the race. I think it’s very unfair.” Benjamin’s resilience and the swift turnaround created one of the most dramatic moments of an already thrilling championships.
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