Olympic silver medallist Rai Benjamin, known for his blistering speed in the 400m hurdles, has been making waves on and off the track in 2025.
Benjamin recently shifted gears to share his thoughts on New York City politics, specifically the heated backlash surrounding Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
Taking to social media, the American hurdler posted a sharp, humorous take on the situation that quickly went viral:
“This Mamdani situation is funny because bro is like… here’s some solutions that’ll help everyday New Yorkers have a better quality of life, and all the old heads are like HELLL NAHHHH 😂😂😂”
Benjamin was responding to the uproar sparked by Mamdani’s progressive mayoral campaign. The 33-year-old Assemblyman from Queens has gained national attention for a platform that includes freezing rents in over a million stabilized apartments, making all city buses free by 2027, halting subway fare hikes, building 200,000 affordable homes, and raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030.
Benjamin’s Season
Meanwhile, Benjamin’s own season on the track is shaping up to be one of the most electrifying, the 400m hurdles has seen in years.
He had a sensational run at the Stockholm Diamond League on June 15, where he clocked 46.54 seconds. That was the fastest time in the world this year and the 10th-fastest in history. He then carried that momentum to Paris, where he stormed to a meeting record of 46.93 seconds at the Meeting de Paris, smashing the previous mark of 46.98 set by Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba in 2018
Up next, Benjamin will compete at the Eugene Diamond League, with plans to focus on training, recovery, and sharpening his routine as the season builds toward its peak.
He is currently the second-fastest man in history in the 400m hurdles with a personal best of 46.17 seconds. Since winning silver at his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2021, Benjamin has only continued to rise.
He claimed the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and has earned silver at the World Championships in 2019 and 2022, along with golds in the 4 × 400m relay in both 2019 and 2021.
