Paris Olympics 2024: Why the men’s 400m hurdles is poised to be an all-time classic

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, American 400-meter hurdler Kevin Young won the gold medal with what was a world-record time of 46.78 seconds. Young became the first man to break the 47-second barrier, a feat no one else would accomplish until 2018.

Nearly 30 years later at the Tokyo Olympics, Young’s time wouldn’t have even won him a medal. Just within the last three years, what was once the longest-standing world record in men’s track may soon drop out of the top 20 all-time fastest performances.

The word “generational” often gets overused, but there are three generational talents engaged in what’s arguably the best rivalry in track and field. Reigning Olympic and world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway, five-time United States champion Rai Benjamin, and 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos of Brazil have rewritten the record books and raised the barrier for greatness in this notoriously grueling one-lap race. Even acknowledging the advancements in track surfaces, training methods, diets, medicine, footwear, etc., they have separated themselves from the rest of the field at an unprecedented level.

Warholm, Benjamin, and dos Santos are all set for a much-anticipated Olympic rematch, and their sixth major championship competition overall. It’s almost inevitable that they will be the medalists in Paris, just as they were in Tokyo. What’s less certain on this occasion is the order.

These are the three fastest men of all-time

Not only is Karsten Warholm the Olympic champion and three-time world champion, he has the existing world record of 45.94 seconds, which was set in that classic Tokyo final. Rai Benjamin ran the second-fastest time ever at 46.17 and had to settle for one of the most incredible silver medal performances you’ll ever see. Alison dos Santos took bronze with what was then a massive personal best of 46.72 seconds, earning his first senior global medal. When dos Santos won the world championship in Oregon in 2022, he bested Benjamin and Warholm (who finished in 7th place) in an eye-popping 46.29 seconds.

Of the 30 fastest times in this event, 28 belong to this trio. The other two are Kevin Young and Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba.

If you expand to the top 50, you would get four appearances from the legendary former Olympic and world champion (and former world record holder) Edwin Moses, while Warholm, Benjamin, and dos Santos have 39—technically 41 of the top 52 when accounting for ties.

Karsten Warholm is the dominant force

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Notable achievements: Olympic champion, 3x World champion, 3x European champion, 2x Diamond League champion, world record holder (45.94 seconds)

Fastest time in 2024: 46.70 seconds (May 30, Diamond League Oslo)

At 28 years old, Warholm is the oldest of the group, the most experienced, and by far the most accomplished. He was the one to break Kevin Young’s record in Oslo just before the last Olympics, running 46.70 and defeating dos Santos in the process. He won his first world title on a rainy London evening back in 2017, when neither dos Santos nor Benjamin had competed in a senior competition.

The former youth decathlete may not have the 122-race winning streak of Edwin Moses, but he’s found his own way to assert his dominance. From 2019 until 2021, Warholm was a perfect 22-0 in the 400m hurdles, winning his second world title and first Olympic gold during that span.

When watching Warholm race, you’d be forgiven for thinking that he was running a 200-meter race. His aggressive tactics out of the starting blocks allow him to speed his way to a lead coming off the turn, at which point his closing strength usually fends off his challengers, all while maintaining his stride pattern and hurdling technique to power to the finish line.

Warholm is also known for his celebratory post-race Viking helmet, which originated in his first world title, as well as his pre-race screams and self-slaps, which he told reporters back in 2020 was, “just to get my adrenaline going, to get in the right mood.” Clearly, it works for him; he’s been the master of his craft for the better part of eight years.

Alison dos Santos is the inspirational sensation

Notable achievements: World champion, Diamond League champion, Pan American Games champion

Fastest time in 2024: 46.63 seconds (May 30, Diamond League Oslo)

Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

Dos Santos’ backstory is as heartbreaking as it is inspirational. As an infant, the Brazilian had a nearly fatal accident at his grandmother’s house when he flipped a frying pan filled with hot oil. He was hospitalized for several months with third-degree burns, and the scarring is still visible throughout his head, left arm, and chest.

Initially, dos Santos competed in judo, but it eventually became too costly for his parents to financially support him. At 14, dos Santos was persuaded to switch to athletics, and he hasn’t looked back.

Dos Santos racked up the medals in regional and global youth tournaments, setting South American under-20 records in the process. At just 19 years old, he won the 400m hurdles gold in the Pan American Games and finished a very respectable 7th in a stacked field in the 2019 World Championships in Qatar.

Following his bronze in Tokyo, dos Santos had his breakthrough moment in 2022. Having entered the World Championships in Eugene undefeated on the year, he breezed through the qualifying rounds to set up another showdown with his main rivals. As Warholm stunningly drifted to the back of the pack in the final 100, the race was on between dos Santos and Benjamin to see who would become a first-time world champion. The towering 6’7 dos Santos smoothly pulled away to become the first Brazilian to win an Olympic or Worlds track gold medal since 800-meter champion Joaquim Cruz in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I changed a lot about my race,” he said after his win. “I tried to be faster, I worked on my speed, my technique over the hurdles.”

Surgery on a torn meniscus put dos Santos’ visions of another world title in 2023 in serious jeopardy. Incredibly, he recovered and made it to the final, but finished in 4th place after hitting two of the final three 36-inch barriers.

Dos Santos has overcome a lot in his life to be one of track and field’s elite competitors, and at 24 years old his best years are theoretically still ahead of him.

Rai Benjamin is in the best form of his life

Notable achievements: NCAA champion, Olympic champion (4x400m relay), 2x World champion (4x400m relay), 5x US champion, 2023 Diamond League champion

Fastest time in 2024: 46.46 seconds (June 30, US Olympic Trials)

The 27-year-old former USC Trojan is the latest in a long line of outstanding American 400-meter hurdlers. All that’s missing is that elusive individual gold medal. While he’s won three golds as part of the Team USA 4x400m relay team, he’s had the misfortune of his great hurdles performances being bested by greater ones. Three times he’s come away with a silver medal to either dos Santos or Warholm, and at last year’s Worlds in Hungary he faded to bronze behind Warholm and the British Virgin Islands’ Kyron McMaster, much to his frustration. Benjamin spent much of that year dealing with a hamstring issue, having been significantly impacted by a COVID-19 infection in 2022.

This year, Benjamin has yet to lose, and last month he capped off his pre-Olympics preparation by defeating Warholm and dos Santos at a Diamond League meet in Monaco in a world-leading time of 46.46. Benjamin was a late entrant in the startlist and even expressed how fatigued he was from the travel.

“It was kind of a tough decision to make since it’s so far,” Benjamin said. “The jet lag hit me really bad yesterday. I’ve been sleeping the entire day. I’m just happy to come out here feeling tired and get the win today.”

Benjamin is not only a superb hurdler, he’s also very versatile. His 44.21 personal best in the open 400 meters is considerably faster than his peers, and he’s also run under 20 seconds in the 200. It certainly helps to be a longtime training partner of Team USA’s Michael Norman, a 400-meter world champion who’s one of a few athletes to go sub-44 in the 400, sub-20 in the 200 (including a win over the nearly unbeatable Noah Lyles), and sub-10 in the 100. With the way he’s looked over the past few months, Benjamin is a man on a mission to finally get what he’s worked so hard to attain.

Who’s it going to be in Paris?

There are signs that Warholm’s firm grip on the 400m hurdles has loosened. Even if you acknowledge his 7th place finish at the 2022 World Championships as a byproduct of a torn hamstring suffered just six weeks prior, more recent results have been eye-opening. Since winning his third world title in 2023, he has lost four consecutive Diamond League races, including twice to Benjamin, once to dos Santos, and once to Kyron McMaster (who, incidentally, is one of the few who has any chance of upsetting the apple cart and winning a medal).

Based on his decorated career and reputation, doubt Warholm at your own risk. On current form, it might finally be Benjamin’s year. Dos Santos cannot be overlooked given his 2022 world title win and dramatic victory over Warholm in Oslo back in May.

This triumvirate of 400-meter hurdling is arguably the best rivalry in all of track and field. Assuming they all make it through the Aug. 5 heats and Aug. 7 semifinals, their Aug. 9 showdown at the Stade de France is likely to be the best race of the Olympics. And don’t be surprised if another world record is required to claim the gold.