Rai Benjamin is an American professional hurdler and sprinter specializing in 400-meter hurdles. 2021 marked Benjamin’s first time at the Olympics, but the track star had already become a favorite on social media for his speed and sure-footed confidence. At just 24 years old, Benjamin has made several strides in the field — from contributing to a men’s 400-meter relay world record at the University of Southern California to more recently becoming the second-best 400-meter hurdler in history at the Olympic Team Trials. He won a silver medal in the men's 400-meter hurdles and gold in the 4x400-meter relay at the Tokyo Olympics.

In college Benjamin ran for the UCLA Bruins and then the USC Trojans, where in early 2018 he was part of the team that set the world best time in the indoor 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:00.77. At the time, his relay split time of 44.35 seconds was the fastest ever recorded in an indoor race. In June of the same year he also helped set the NCAA record in the same event but outdoors, and ran what was at the time the second fastest 400-meter hurdles race of all-time in 47.02 seconds.

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