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Rai Benjamin has very quickly become one of the best runners in the world in the 400-meter hurdle event. The youngster has looked in great shape over the past few years and going into Tokyo, he will be one of the brightest prospects to finish at the podium. Here are a few facts about the young hurdle racer.
# 1 Rai Benjamin's father was a cricketer
Rai Benjamin is the son of West Indian cricketer Winston Benjamin. His father was an excellent player and turned out for the Caribbean team during their glory days in the '80s. He represented West Indies in 21 Tests and 85 ODIs, picking up 161 international wickets.
Benjamin did not follow his father's route. He initially decided to pursue soccer and later moved on to American Football. It was there that the 23-year-old discovered the potency of his brilliant speed. That in turn motivated him to get into Athletics, which has worked wonders so far for the youngster.
# 2 Rai Benjamin and his NCAA records
Rai Benjamin started his career brilliantly as he swept through the junior sections of the American circuit, which set the tone for a perfect career. He ran for the UCLA Bruins and later the USC Trojans, where he was part of the team that set the world's best time in the indoor 4X400 meter relay with a time of 3:00:77.
His split in the race was 44:35 secs, making it the fastest recorded indoor race. He made it to the NCAA Division 1 All-American honors after coming first in the 4X400 meter relay event, where his team clocked a timing of 2:59:00 seconds. His individual timing of 47:02 equalled Edwin Moses for the second all-time in history.
# 3 What is Rai Benjamin's net worth?
Rai Benjamin is a Nike athlete. There is no exact figure available regarding how much he earns, but his net worth is estimated to be anywhere around $1 million to $5 million.
# 4 Rai Benjamin almost broke the world record during US trials
Rai Benjamin has been very fond of breaking records right from his NCAA days. He came very close to breaking the world record in the 400 meter hurdles as he clocked a time of 46:83 secs in the US trials. Benjamin's timing made him the third fastest to ever run in this category. He was only 0.85 seconds from breaking Kevin Young's record, who clocked 46.78 secs in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
# 5 How many medals has Rai Benjamin won in his career?
Rai Benjamin had a successful World Championship in Doha, where he bagged a gold and a silver in the 400 meter hurdles and the 4X400 meter events respectively. While representing his home country Antigua, he won silver in the U-20 category at the CARIFTA Games in 2015.
Also Read: Tokyo Olympics: Who can claim the men's 400m hurdles throne?
