“Dang, this one’s gonna be tough.”
Rai Benjamin shared his thoughts after competing against Letsile Tebogo in the anchor leg of the men’s 4×400-meter relay finals, as reported by Chris Chavez on X.
Benjamin, fully committed to the baton exchange with teammate Bryce Deadmon, who ran a strong third leg, was acutely aware of the Botswanan talent beside him. This prompted Benjamin to strategize on how to outperform Tebogo.
Recognizing the challenge ahead, Benjamin acknowledged Tebogo’s recent dominance in the 200-meter finals, where he clocked 19.46. This impressive speed suggested Tebogo would be formidable in the 400-meter split.
” I had to be smart. I couldn’t get out too hot and I couldn’t get out too slow, because the kid just ran 19.4 and you don’t play around with people like that.”
For the first 200 meters, Benjamin ran alongside Tebogo. In the final stretch, the American increased his pace, finishing just 0.1 seconds ahead of his Botswanan rival.
“I knew it was gonna be a fight coming home, so it was probably my most calculated anchor leg that I’ve ever run.”
Team USA secured the gold medal and set an Olympic record in the men’s 4×400-meter relay with a time of 2:54.43. Botswana claimed silver, setting an African record at 2:54.53, while Great Britain took bronze with an impressive 2:55.83.
Here’s what Rai Benjamin (@_Kingben_) had to say after holding off Letsile Tebogo (43.04 split) on the anchor leg in the men’s 4x400m final:
“When Bryce got the stick and brought it around, I saw Letsile on the anchor leg and I was like, ‘Dang, this one’s gonna be tough.’ I… pic.twitter.com/prDCQTs7La
— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) August 10, 2024
Team USA’s triumph in the men’s 4×400-meter relay extended their streak of three consecutive wins in the category since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
This was also an excellent method to win back the hearts of American supporters who had watched a disappointing finish in the men’s 4×100-meter relay.
Team USA went into the men’s 4×100-meter finals full of confidence, however, due to a baton exchange error between Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek, the entire team was disqualified after crossing the finish line in seventh position.
It was a tremendous disaster for American fans, but the sportsmen on the squad assured them that they had acknowledged their mistake and that it would be avoided in future competitions.
