Rai Benjamin was involved in a ‘heart-wrenching’ conclusion to the men’s 400m hurdles final in Tokyo on Friday.
The Team USA star appeared to have clinched gold with ease at the World Athletics Championships.
X / BBCSportBenjamin was disqualified moments after winning the men’s 400m hurdles final[/caption]
X / BBCSportThe Team USA athlete was told of the decision whilst still wearing a crown[/caption]
However, an emotional few minutes followed as the 28-year-old was disqualified before being reinstated just moments later.
Benjamin thought he had secured world champion status after clocking a season’s best time of 46.52 seconds.
He crossed the line ahead of Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos and Abderrahman Samba of Qatar at the National Stadium.
His celebrations saw him soak up the atmosphere inside the arena whilst wearing a gold crown.
Benjamin still had the crown on his head when the officials announced he had been disqualified.
He was penalised after clipping the final hurdle, which caused it to knock a rival’s hurdle out of place in the adjacent lane.
Television cameras captured his reaction to the decision, showing him asking ‘how?’ before standing up and taking the crown off.
Reacting to the incident on the BBC’s coverage, former Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill admitted: “For me, that seems completely insane.
“He hit the barrier but not on purpose, it wouldn’t affect the standings of the race at the end of the day. The athlete who is affected still clears the hurdle.
“I feel this is very unfair if he is going to lose his world title for that mistake. Obviously the USA will appeal this.
X / BBCSportBenjamin was penalised after clipping the final hurdle only to be reinstated on appeal[/caption]
“It is heart-wrenching for him to celebrate then find out that title may be gone.”
Fortunately for Benjamin, he was reinstated just four minutes later after a successful American appeal.
Rai Benjamin’s medals and records
The victory saw him claim individual World Championships gold for the first time after two previous relay triumphs.
It also adds to his Olympic title in the same event at last summer’s Games in Paris as well as a silver in Tokyo back in 2021.
Meanwhile, he is already a two-time Olympic 4x400m relay champion but had previously failed to capture at the World Championships.
Benjamin headed to the Japanese capital as a two-time silver medallist along with a bronze from Budapest two years ago.
GettyThe 28-year-old is now the reigning Olympic and world champion in the men’s 400m hurdles[/caption]
The new world champion also holds the distinction of having the second fastest 400m hurdles time of all-time.
His time of 46.17 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics is also the North American record in the event.
