The Olympic champion on staying healthy on a consistent basis
For the four-time Olympic medal holder, who celebrated his 28th birthday last Sunday (July 27), learning has been challenging.
One race particularly sticks out. Aged 16, the New York native with roots from Antigua and Barbuda, where he spent a lot of his childhood, delivered an outstanding win in North Carolina for the all-America junior crown.
However, within five minutes of being crowned champion, he was disqualified for hooking a leg around three hurdles.
It was a moment that stayed with him.
Since then, Benjamin, a standout high school football player, who abandoned his NFL dreams for a track career, has been faced with external expectations and internal pressure — chasing his big moment. His biggest struggle has been trying to “stay healthy on a consistent basis.”
“The big thing for me is staying healthy, and that’s something I haven’t been able to do in the front half of my career,” said Benjamin, who turned professional in 2018.
“Picking and choosing and being careful about what I’m doing throughout the year is very cautionary so that I’m able to be well when it really matters.
“A couple of championships, I just haven’t been 100% while I’m there, except for the Tokyo Olympics and last year [Paris 2024] I was definitely 100% and feeling good, so that’s the focus.”
Rai Benjamin: “Smooth guy, smooth killer”
He is ecstatic to have realised his Olympic aspirations, and is relishing the experience, despite the apparent intensity of the rivalry between him and Norwegian Warholm, which he frequently downplays.
“I always say this is not the UFC. We are not fighting each other. What’s the point of having unnecessary beef? We leave that to the 100m sprinters; they’ve got that on lock right now,” he joked in Stockholm when asked whether their hurdles competitiveness spills off the track.