"
It was the biggest race in the history of the Olympic Games,
" said the American Rai Benjamin, 2nd in the incredible 400m hurdles final of the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, behind the Norwegian Karsten Warholm, author of a new world record.
“
It will take me a while to digest everything.
But I am very happy to have been part of history like this
”, confided after the race Benjamin, very moved in the mixed zone.
To discover
The full Olympic program
The Olympic medal table
To read also: Olympic Games: 400 m hurdles: The daring Warholm destroys the wall of 46 seconds
“
I think even Bolt's 9s 5s (actually made at the Worlds in 2019) can't compete.
We have three guys faster than the old world record
, ”he added.
In 45 sec 94, Warholm exploded his own world record set in July (46 sec 70) in place of the old record of American Kevin Young (46 sec 78), who had previously held since 1992. Rai Benjamin (46 sec 17) and the Brazilian Alison dos Santos (46 sec 70) both also surpassed this time on Tuesday.
“
If someone had told me that I would make 46 sec 1 in the final and still lose the race, I think I would have hit them and thrown them out of my room,
” Benjamin joked. “
Warholm is amazing. I cannot be too disappointed. Of course, as a competitor it hurts a lot, but that's just the nature of the sport,
”he added.
