"Taken care of"- Rai Benjamin sends strong message after dominant 400m hurdles performance to qualify for World Championships semis

Rai Benjamin issued a strong messaged as he booked his seat on the 400m hurdles semifinals roster by topping Heat 4 at the World Championships. The Olympian will face world record holder Karsten Warholm in the semifinals, en route to the World title.

Rai Benjamin came fresh off his dominant Paris Olympic campaign, where he won gold medals in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay. He toppled Warholm in the former event, leaving him on the silver podium. Continuing his form at the 2025 World Championships, Benjamin topped his respective heat in 48.15, and advanced to the semifinals.

Reflecting on his performance, the 28-year-old shared a picture series on Instagram with shots from his stint and sent a confident message, reading:

"First round taken care of"

The 400m hurdles semifinals will take place on September 17, with the finals following on the 19th under the Tokyo lights.

Benjamin had a decent season so far, winning the 400m hurdles at the Paris and Stockholm stops of the Diamond League. At the USATF Nationals, he cemented his status as the most formidable athete in the distance, winning the National title in 46.89s, booking his seat on the World Championships roster.

Rai Benjamin revealed that his past experience in Tokyo in 2021 made him aware that he should not take that path

Benjamin at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - (Source: Getty)

Rai Benjamin was just an inch away from taking the win at the 2021 Tokyo Oympics, despite breaking the previous world record. He finished behind Karsten Warholm, who clocked a better time to lower the world record. Having faced such a tough loss, the American was determined to reclaim the top spot in the 2024 Games edition and he achieved it.

However, at the same National Stadium in Tokyo, where the Worlds are being hosted, Benjamin pledged to not make the same mistake as 2021 and also beamed in confidence.

“Coming second (at Tokyo 2020) put me in a bit of distress but I think it taught me a lot, so coming back here is special. It was my first Olympics. But I've been in this sport for six, seven years now. Having that experience and knowing what it feels like to be out here is the difference. I'm pretty confident," he said. (via Olympics.com)

His first gold medal came at the Tokyo Olympics as he contributed to the 4x400m relay team's top podium finish.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder