Rye Benjamin’s long-awaited victory in Paris is a testament to his unwavering determination and relentless pursuit.it is excellence.
After four years of relentless pursuit, Ray Benjamin’s persistence paid off in Paris. He won gold in the 400m hurdles, a feat that had eluded him at both the World and Olympic Games. His victory was all the more impressive as he edged out world record holder Karsten Warholm, who settled for silver.
The 4×400m relay was a battle that Rye Benjamin was ready for. He met with Letsile Tebogo who gave his all to beat Benjamin. The race was intense, but in the end, Benjamin’s determination and skill were too much for Tebogo to overcome.
It is important to understand the sheer intensity of the 400m hurdles, a race that has been mastered. With ten obstacles to overcome, it is one of the toughest races in our sport. Still, in Paris, Rai looked effortless, dominating her final and coming out on top.
This interview is from March 2023. please enjoy!
This interview was conducted in March 2023. As in the previous six pandemic years, Global Athletics & Marketing planned several days of interviews for some of the global athletics media. Twenty-six athletes were interviewed by a panel of new, veteran and not-so-veteran media. Some media were prepared with a combination of text stories, audio and video, and some, like RunBlogRun, with presentations.
RunBlogRun sincerely believes that a diverse media is critical to the success of our sport. For example, the different approaches to bespoke track meets during the pandemic and the incredible variety of streaming video have enriched our sport.
RunBlogRun has been fortunate to work with more than 40 writers and photographers since 2006, bringing fresh perspectives to the sport, but also to a platform that gives a global platform to the media’s most passionate.
We are not People magazine. We do not follow gossip. we use social media to share our stories, photo galleries and commentary on sports.
In that light, please watch Ray Benjamin’s interview.
On March 8-9, 2023, I interviewed 25 Global Athletics athletes. You’ll start seeing them on our websites, FB, Twitter and IG. We will provide video, audio and text versions. Why? Because our readers digest media in different ways, even on the same day.
Rye Benjamin has had a busy three years. When I spoke to Ray in March 2023, we hadn’t spoken since 2019. I asked Rai to provide some context on the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Eugene’s 2022 World Championships, and his current state of health and fitness.
The result is one of the most moving and honest interviews I’ve witnessed in my nearly 40 years as a journalist.
My interviews are quite organic. I use a method known as the Brian Lenton method. Brian is a great Australian journalist who has covered the golden era of the Australian marathon with Chris Wardlaw, Rob De Castella, Steve Monaghetti as well as John Landy, Ron Clarke, Brendan Foster and Bill Rogers amongst others. In most interviews, Lenton would throw a six-pack of adult soda on the table and let the conversation go where it went.
Eugene, Oregon, USA
July 15-26, 2022 Photo by Kevin Morris
I should call my method the enhanced Lenton method. No booze, and yes, tons of reading before the interview, but the interview grows organically. In this case, with Ray, he’s clearly a good fit for the interview. Rye knows I love sports, and he knows the questions will make him approach the event differently than he probably has before.
My plan was to try and assess the challenges presented to Ray Benjamin in 2021 and 2022 with illness, injury and being one of the top two athletes in the world at your event.
In one of the questions, you might find it a bit distorted. The truth is that Rai was so honest and this writer found it to be a very emotional experience. Honesty is not common these days. In this writer’s estimation, Rye Benjamin is on a journey to see how good he really is, and it has nothing to do with his best 400m hurdles time.
I believe it is one of Ray’s best efforts.
Enjoy the interview! When an athlete and a writer can come together for a common goal, that is, for this writer, like running a nearly perfect race.
I have to be honest with you. My take on Ray Benjamin is this. In due time, he would become the greatest 400 meter hurdler the world has ever seen. But that is his way.
And he must run many ten hurdles (to paraphrase the poet Robert Frost) before going to bed.
I caught up with Ray Benjamin right after the 400m steeplechase in Doha, Qatar. Taking a breath, Ray told me. He ran 47.78 to hold off the PB held by CJ Allen who ran 47.93.
“I will compete in the Los Angeles Grand Prix in three weeks and I hope to run much faster.”
And that’s why I’m on a plane on May 24th to watch the USATF LA Grand Prix.
I want to see Rye Benjamin run the 400m hurdles really fast.
Special thanks to Mike Dearing for producing interview after interview.
