Benjamin's hurdles win earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the USATF LA Grand Prix men's 400 hurdles with a world-leading time, Rai Benjamin (Los Angeles, CA/USATF Southern California) earned recognition as the 19th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024.

Benjamin, the American record holder and now owner of the four fastest times in U.S. history, ran away from the field at UCLA's Drake Stadium to win in 46.64 in his season debut in the event. An Olympic silver medalist at Tokyo and twice a silver medalist at the World Championships, Benjamin recorded the fastest 400H time ever in the month of May and his time was the ninth-fastest in world history.

Of note, Benjamin also broke the stadium record of 47.45 that was set in 1977 by Edwin Moses of Morehouse College. Moses was the 1976 and 1984 Olympic champion and that 47.45 was one of four world records he set in his storied career, culminating in a 47.02 in 1983 that stood as the WR for nine years.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Sue McDonald, 61, won the women's 60-69 division at the USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships by 25 seconds in 5:44, equaling the masters AR* set 11 years ago by Kathy Martin. That time earned her an age grading score of 93.46%.
• Jacob Nur, 68, had the highest men's age grading score at the USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships with a 92.86% after winning his age group by one second in 5:23.
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone beat a strong field in the women's 200 at the USATF LA GP, clocking a PB 22.07 to win by a quarter-second over 2022 USATF champion Abby Steiner.
• Elle St. Pierre became the No. 5 all-time U.S. performer in the women's 5000 with a 14:34.12 win at the USATF Distance Classic.

*All records subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee
 
Now in its 23rd year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2024 Winners: January 17, Weini Kelati; January 24, Cooper Teare; January 31, Nico Young; February 7, Fiona O'Keeffe; February 14, Elle St. Pierre; February 21, Grant Holloway; February 28, Jalani Davis; March 6, Elle St. Pierre; March 13, Rachel Glenn; March 20, Grant Fisher; March 27, Myrle Mensey; April 3, Jordan Davis; April 10, Hillary Bor; April 17, Jacious Sears; April 24, Christian Miller; May 1, Payton Otterdahl; May 8, Gabby Thomas; May 15, Ja'Kobe Tharp; May 22, Rai Benjamin.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.

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