Revenge? Maybe. Beef? Definitely not. That’s Rai Benjamin’s style: let the legs talk, not the mouth. Just days ago, on June 12 at the Oslo Diamond League, he lost a fierce 300m hurdles battle to Karsten Warholm, the world record holder himself. Warholm ran 32.67s, smashing his own best, while Benjamin settled for second with a personal best of 33.22s. The race was electric. Warholm did what he always does, waited till the final stretch, then exploded past Benjamin in trademark fashion. But track and field never sleeps, and Stockholm came knocking fast.
Just three days later, on June 15, Rai Benjamin got his moment. And oh, did he deliver. In the men’s 400m hurdles, Benjamin flew to a 46.54, not just a win, but a world lead and a new meeting record. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos chased with a season’s best 46.68. And Warholm? He was a distant third in 47.41. From being overtaken in the final meters to totally flipping the script—that’s the kind of bounce-back only champions pull off. Just like that, Benjamin flipped the script from Oslo. Same rivals. Same intensity. Totally different result.
The rest of the field never really stood a chance. Emil Agyekum, Alastair Chalmers, and Carl Bengtstrom were all left trailing in the wake of Rai Benjamin’s dominant stride. This was complete control, from gun to tape. Poised. Smooth. Relentless. And to think, he pulled this off just 72 hours after losing to Warholm in Oslo. That loss? It didn’t break him. It sharpened him. After the race, Benjamin opened up about the toll the quick turnaround had taken and how he turned it into fuel.
“I think on Thursday I got a little too excited,” he admitted. “I did not run a good race strategically… I had to stay patient and not panic.” With barely 3 to 4 hours of sleep each night and a rough travel schedule, he spent most of race day doing what many wouldn’t dare before a big final: sleeping. But that rest, paired with a relaxed warm-up, paid off. “I felt confident coming in… we’re all competitors once we’re out there. We all want to win. Our performances speak for themselves.”
THE RIVALRY KEEPS GETTING BETTER.
Once again, the matchup between the three greatest 400m hurdles in the world delivers, as @_Kingben_ comes out on top of another great battle with a #StockholmDL meet record of 46.54.
Alison dos Santos takes second in 46.68 and Karsten… pic.twitter.com/m5Q0jGwlsU
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) June 15, 2025
No fiery quotes, no stare-downs, no headlines meant to stir the pot. Unlike the 100m rivalries we see with Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, or Letsile Tebogo, Benjamin and Warholm have built something different. One of his rivals, Alison Dos Santos, said, “I think we’re old enough to mind our own business. Once we get to the call room, we’re just like ‘good luck,’ and we continue racing.”
It’s competition without chaos… but will it stay that way heading into Worlds? Well, for Rai Benjamin, it seems so. How? Let’s hear it from the legend himself.
Rai Benjamin and the silent fire of the 400m hurdles
In a sport where rivalries often come with fireworks and soundbites, the men’s 400m hurdles has built something rare, pure, and unfiltered. Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin, and Alison dos Santos aren’t just fast, they’re historic. Warholm still owns the world record at 45.94, Benjamin is the Olympic champion with a 46.17, and dos Santos, the 2022 world champ, clocked a near-perfect 46.29. Together, they’ve written the modern history of this event, trading titles, pushing each other past limits, and running 18 of the fastest times ever recorded.
But unlike the flashy face-offs, this trio doesn’t do chaos. No shouting matches, no shade. Just a handshake and 10 hurdles. As Rai Benjamin said after the Oslo Diamond League, “This isn’t the UFC—what’s the point of unnecessary beef? We leave that to the 100m sprinters.” Dos Santos agreed: “We’re old enough to mind our own business. In the call-room, it’s just ‘good luck’ and go race.’” Even after Warholm crushed the 300m hurdles world best in Oslo (32.67), Rai Benjamin took it on the chin: “I was just feeling things out.” Still, make no mistake, Benjamin is making noise where it counts.
Just three days after the Oslo loss, he stormed back in Stockholm, clocking a 46.54 to take the world lead and send a clear message. All three will meet again on June 20 in Paris, where every step will matter. No words needed, the clock and history will do the talking in Paris, and then again at the 2025 World Championships
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