Rai Benjamin took home the silver medal in what many are calling one of the greatest Olympic races of all time on Tuesday, but the American hurdler seemed devastated by the result.
Benjamin finished second in the men’s 400 meter hurdle with a time of 46.17 seconds. That bested the old world record of 46.70 seconds, which was set by Kevin Young at the 1992 Olympics. Unfortunately for Benjamin, Norway’s Karsten Warholm was even faster.
Warholm, who won the gold, shattered the world record with a time of 45.94 seconds. Benjamin looked stunned after the race, and he was shown a clip of his family cheering him on in his home state of Georgia. He fought back tears and said, “Love you, Mom. I’m sorry.”
Benjamin was asked after the race what he would have thought if someone told him beforehand that he would run as fast as he did and still not win the gold.
“I would probably beat you up and tell you to get out of my room,” he said, via The Associated Press.
You can understand why Benjamin was so crushed. While he’ll likely be proud of his performance when the disappointment wears off, setting a world record but not winning a gold medal is the definition of bittersweet.
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