Son of former West Indian pacer wins double gold at Paris Olympics 2024

Benjamin was delighted to see his son win gold at the Paris Olympics.
 By Pratyusha Bhawar Aug 12, 2024, 12:21 IST
Rai Benjamin (Source - Twitter)?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

USA star player Rai Benjamin had an incredible success at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, claiming two gold medals for his country. Benjamin took home the gold in the 400-meter hurdles. The American won his race in 46.46 seconds, topping the winner of Tokyo 2020, Karsten Warholm of Norway, who finished in 47.06 seconds, and Alison dos Santos of Brazil, who claimed the bronze medal in 47.26 seconds. Rai also brought home a gold medal with Bryce Deadmon, Vernon Norwood, and Christopher Bailey in the 4x400m relay in Paris. The American racer won silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 400-meter relay, but this time he took the game to the epitome of the level after winning the gold medal.

Interestingly, Rai is the son of Winston Benjamin, who is a former West Indies cricketer. Earlier, Rai was raised in New York and first tried American football and cricket before focussing on track and field events. In addition to this, he competed for Antigua and Barbuda in the World Youth Championships in 2013 and the World Relays in 2015, but he later turned to American athletics. Benjamin earned 400-meter hurdles silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships in Doha and Eugene, respectively, along with gold in Paris and silver in Tokyo.

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I have never met anyone who would have experienced a similar feeling; it was a surreal moment: Winston Benjamin

Meanwhile, Winston Benjamin appeared in 85 ODIs and 21 Tests for the West Indies, amassing 61 and 100 wickets, respectively. Throughout the course of his more than eight-year career, he contributed greatly to several West Indies victories, but he never rose to the rank of an iconic cricket player. Benjamin started teaching and mentoring new cricket players after he retired from the game. Benjamin was delighted to see his son win gold at the Paris Olympics.

"I have never met anyone who would have experienced a similar feeling; it was a surreal moment. I'm very happy for his achievement, because I know how much he worked, I know how hard it was for him and how much he really wanted it," Benjamin told Cricbuzz.

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