After a commanding start to the 2025 season, American hurdler Rai Benjamin was poised to solidify his dominance. But a narrow loss to Brazil’s Alison dos Santos at the Prefontaine Classic on July 5 has ignited one of the sport’s liveliest debates this summer.
A Summer of Highs… Until Eugene
Benjamin opened his 2025 campaign in style, scorching to a world-leading 46.54 seconds at the BAUHAUS-Galan in Stockholm on June 15. Not only was it a meet record, but it also ranked as the 10th-fastest time ever in the event.
Five days later in Paris, he followed up with another emphatic win, clocking 46.93 seconds to smash yet another meeting record.
But the narrative shifted in Eugene. At the Prefontaine Classic, Benjamin stumbled ever so slightly after the final hurdle, and Alison dos Santos seized the opportunity. The Brazilian star edged Benjamin with a season-best 46.65 seconds, handing Rai his first loss of the season by a mere 0.06 seconds.
The defeat set the track and field world abuzz. Noah Williams and Colin Waitzman of Track World News dissected the race in their July 6 video, with Noah noting.
“That got me excited for worlds… there’s like four different storylines that came from this.”
Waitzman, however, stumbled on his facts when he suggested this was Benjamin’s first defeat since the 2023 Prefontaine Classic. In reality, Benjamin won Prefontaine in 2023 and his last major loss came at the 2023 World Championships, where Karsten Warholm secured victory.
Fans in the comment section quickly corrected the mix-up, recounting Warholm’s legendary comeback season in 2023 after injury setbacks in 2022.
The Never-Ending Warholm-Benjamin Rivalry
Much of the debate centers around Benjamin’s ability to win the close ones. Fans pointed out his crucial victories, notably, his thrilling 46.39s win at the 2023 Prefontaine over Warholm, and his 46.67s triumph in Monaco in 2024.
But critics countered that while Benjamin shines in regular season meets, his record at major championships has been less consistent.
The numbers don’t lie: at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Benjamin clocked a mind-blowing 46.17s, the second-fastest time ever, yet still finished behind Warholm’s world-record 45.94s. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, he settled for bronze in a 47.56s race that saw Warholm reclaim gold.
Despite his critics, Benjamin’s 2024 Olympic triumph in Paris, where he claimed his first individual gold with a 46.46s, proves he can deliver on the biggest stage.
As one fan aptly put it in the debate thread: “There’s no other event with a top three like the men’s 400m hurdles. Every race is up for grabs between the big three.”
Indeed, Warholm continues to produce jaw-dropping times, including a 32.67s world best over 300m hurdles in Oslo this June, while dos Santos is consistently dropping sub-47s. Benjamin remains a major player, his Stockholm meet record just days after Warholm’s Oslo heroics is proof that the gap between these titans is razor-thin.
Is Benjamin Untouchable?
A fair assessment, as one commenter noted.
“Benjamin might be the most talented in the field, but recency bias has people thinking he’s untouchable.”
Benjamin’s only major championship win in the 400m hurdles came in Paris 2024. In 2022, a hampered Warholm still managed to stay ahead of Benjamin, and in 2023, both Warholm and Kyron McMaster finished ahead of him.
But the tides are constantly shifting. And if Benjamin’s early-season form is any indication, the World Championships showdown later this summer promises to be electric.