Ray Benjamin deliver a spectacular show to win Paris-2024 Gold in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. The American crossed the finish line in a time of 46.46 seconds, beating Tokyo 2020 champion Karsten Warholm from Norway, who took silver in 47.06, and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos who won bronze in 47.26.

“I can’t believe I finally did it,” Benjamin said after the race. “It just happened at the right moment. My family is here, my friends are here. To finish ahead of them means so much to me. I’m just so excited.”

A field of the highest quality competitors lined up at the starting line with ten hurdles, and seven other athletes – all with the same lofty goal: gold – separated them from the Olympic title.

And while many fans could have predicted the winners’ podium, it was far more difficult to guess the steps the athletes would stand on.

Warholm, the Olympic record holder, was perhaps the biggest favorite for the gold medal, but with Dos Santos the 2022 world champion and Benjamin holding the fastest time of the year, this 400m hurdles final seemed wide open.

In the end, it was Benjamin who came out on top, taking the Olympic crown in front of a party-loving Parisian crowd as the evening’s athletics action drew to a close. Warholm stumbled on the home straight and had no chance of catching the leading American with 100m to go.

“To make it here means a lot to me,” Benjamin said when asked how it felt to beat such a strong field. “I’ve been doing it all season. To make it here when it really counted, when everyone said I couldn’t make it, means so much to me. They can’t take this away from me, not at all. For me, it’s all about proving to myself that I’m right.”

Benjamin is now upgrading the silver medal he won at the last Tokyo Games to a shiny gold medal, engraved with a piece of the Eiffel Tower. He will leave these Games not only with a true piece of French history, but also with the most coveted trophy in sport – the title of Olympic champion.