FOR DECADES TO COME, athletics fans should marvel at what a great 3-man rivalry the sport has had in the men’s 400 hurdles during the 2020s. And the evolution of the competition between Alison dos Santos, Rai Benjamin and Karsten Warholm is a big part of what makes it so epic.
Warholm actually won his first World title in 2017, repeated in ’19 while he and runner-up Benjamin were still in the 47s, then of course smashed the WR in ’21 ahead of Benjamin and rising star dos Santos. The Brazilian’s first crown was in Eugene22 before the American upped his game in ’24 for back-to-back global championships.
Now it has been dos Santos’ turn to ascend to the top (well, return, technically speaking), peaking in Zurich with a jaw-dropping WR. But the other storyline of this season has been the absence of Benjamin, who successfully moved to the 400 while running just one 400H race (a 46.67, with neither of the others in the race) before Budapest.
So with the first World Ultimate title at hand, history’s 35 best performances between them, and Benjamin jumping back in to attempt a rare 400/400H double, Sunday’s final was crackling with intrigue.
Benjamin lined up in Saturday’s first heat about 100 minutes after he had finished runner-up (44.15) behind Collen Kebinatshipi in the blazing flat 400 final. Dos Santos was next to him, and they ran just as fast as needed, 47.25 and 47.49. “It took a lot of mental strength between the 400 and 400 hurdles,” said World and Olympic champ Benjamin. “I had less than 2 hours between those races.”
In the final the next day, Warholm took off from lane 8, with dos Santos in 7 and Benjamin in 6. Warholm didn’t go out as aggressively as he often does and the trio went over the first two barriers almost even. By the third hurdle, Benjamin had a slight lead. But two barriers later, dos Santos — not out quite as overpoweringly fast as in Zurich — had caught him, with Warholm trailing.
Dos Santos and Benjamin ran almost together through hurdles 6–8, with Warholm actually gaining a little bit back. “100m before the finish line we were three, almost in an equal position,” the Norwegian said afterward.
That near parity was short-lived, though, as Warholm slipped back slightly and then cleared hurdle 9 a little awkwardly. Meanwhile, dos Santos had clearly measured his effort to have the strongest possible finish. He began to pull away on the straight, right after the penultimate barrier, and continued to draw further ahead through the final hurdle and to the finish.
There was no WR, but the new WR-holder had pushed under 46 again, his 45.98 just 0.04 off the Viking’s previous standard. Benjamin finished in 46.40, the #3 mark of his career, and Warholm came through in 46.78 — exactly the WR before the trio began smashing through it in July of 2021. German Emil Agyekum, the Euro Champs runner-up behind Warholm, set his second NR of the year in 4th at 47.10.
Amusingly, dos Santos might have derived a little motivation from the World Athletics app for the meet. “I saw a post on the main page saying I had something like a 95 percent chance of winning. I thought, wow, that is pretty high so I just wanted to go out there and run as fast as I could.”
More seriously, the 26-year-old added, “Running fast is important, but winning is more important. I knew everybody would give their best and fight all the way to the line, and I knew coming off the eighth hurdle into the final part of the race it was going to be a real battle.”
Said Warholm, the senior member of the trio at 30, “I was confident, I thought it could be doable but when Alison is dropping to 45.9 [and 45.80 in his WR], what can I say?… This year is a good baseline to work on for next season.”
Benjamin also left his rivals with something to think about for 2027. “I know I can run fast. Now I just need to back it up and I need to get back to work. I will focus on the hurdles next year.”
UC MEN’S 400 HURDLES RESULTS
(September 13)
1. Alison dos Santos (Bra) 45.98 (x, 2 W)
(11.32, 21.95, 33.46)
2. Rai Benjamin (US) 46.40 (AL) (x, 8 W; x, 3 A)
(11.26, 21.96, 33.45)
3. Karsten Warholm (Nor) 46.78
(11.40, 22.15, 33.61)
4. Emil Nana Kwame Agyekum (Ger) 47.10 NR
5. Abderrahmane Samba (Qat) 47.78
6. Ezekiel Nathaniel (Ngr) 48.23
7. Matheus Lima (Bra) 48.67
8. Ismail Nezir (Tur) 49.04.
Heats (September 12)
I–1. dos Santos 47.25; 2. Benjamin 47.49; 3. Agyekum 47.75; 4. Samba 47.83; 5. Oskar Edlund (Swe) 48.13; 6. Matic Ian Guček (Slo) 48.17; 7. Yeral Nuñez (DR) 48.27; 8. Trevor Bassitt (US) 48.59.
II–1. Warholm 47.68; 2. Nathaniel 47.75; 3. Lima 47.91; 4. Nezir 48.01 PR; 5. Bassem Hemeida (Qat) 48.12; 6. Kemorena Tisang (Bot) 49.21;… dq[lane]—Owe Fischer-Breiholz (Ger);… dnc— Caleb Dean (US).
