Rai Benjamin on why narrowly beating Letsile Tebogo in the Paris Olympics 4 x 400m final was the most difficult victory of his career

Benjamin anchored USA to the 4 X 400m relay final at the Paris Olympic games, narrowly edging out Letsile Tebogo-anchored Botswana, but he has explained candidly why it was the toughest victory of his career.

American hurdler Rai Benjamin has explained the strategy he used to outpace Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo to help his country win the 4 by 400m relay at the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, further explaining why it was the most difficult race of his career.

Going up against Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in a dramatic final-leg duel, Benjamin’s strategic brilliance on the track ensured that his team claimed gold with an Olympic record time of 2:54.43.

The victory, however, did not come easy. Tebogo, the reigning 200m champion, anchored Botswana’s relay team and pushed Benjamin to the brink in a nail-biting finish. 

Botswana’s performance was nothing short of spectacular, finishing with a new African record of 2:54.53, just 0.10 seconds behind the U.S. team, who themselves just missed out on breaking the world record by 0.14.

 Great Britain rounded out the podium with a bronze medal and a European record time of 2:55.83.

Speaking on the Night Cap show, Benjamin shared the intricate strategy that guided his approach to the final leg.

 “When Bryce (Christopher Bailey) brought the baton in, he was 43.5 on fire coming through. I saw how close the Botswanan kid was coming, so in my head, I’m like, ‘when he gets the baton, he is going to be like two steps behind me, and he is either going to try and cover me or sit on me over the first 100.’”

Benjamin’s awareness of Tebogo’s strengths, particularly his blistering speed in the 200m, shaped his tactical approach. “In my head, I was like, ‘Don’t blast the first 100 like you usually do. Do 10.9 or 10.8 so you can hold on the backstretch. That way I can get his legs moving.’”

Understanding Tebogo’s prowess, Benjamin calculated the risks of the race. “Tebogo is a 200 guy, and he just ran 19.4, so my whole thought process was, given he can run 300 and probably make it to 350, which would be hot if I could bring us through 300 at 31 flat. I was like, ‘take him out first 100 and let him spin his legs down the backstretch.’ He was doing that.”

The atmosphere in the stadium added to the pressure, but Benjamin remained focused. “It got so loud at the stadium and yet I could hear him behind me, so I stayed calm. 

“Kept spinning and he stayed at bay, and then we got to the last 120. It looked like I was jogging, but it was so smooth. I was open, like ‘we gonna get it this last 100.’ We got to 350, and he was still at bay, and then the crowd made a sound.”

As the race neared its conclusion, Benjamin experienced a moment of doubt but quickly rallied.

 “When the crowd makes a sound, it is usually because somebody fell down or fell. I looked up at the jumbotron, and I could not see him because his uniform was blue and the track was purple, and I am moving so fast.”

“I checked again and told myself, ‘damn, he is still here! I gotta go!’ I dug deep and got to 350, and about five or 10 meters before the line, I was honestly shot. 

“That is where the reps and being disciplined come in because when that happens, you are not really getting faster that last 100. It is about who is slowing down the slowest.”

For Benjamin, the motivation to win was deeply personal. “For me, it was like, ‘don’t get walked man, I gotta get a gold medal for these dudes in front of TV cause I was not going to hear the end of it (if we lost).’”

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