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American sprinter Rai Benjamin has explained how he enjoys the rivalry between Jamaica and USA, revealing how Kishane Thompson’s 100m world lead left him fearing the worst.
Olympics 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin has admitted that he has nothing but respect for Jamaican sprinters due to their dominance in the sprints over the years.
American men had played second fiddle to Jamaica in both 100m and 200m during the era of Usain Bolt before he retired in 2017 while Jamaican women had reigned supreme until the 2024 Paris Olympics when things changed due to the absence of their big hitters.
Since Bolt’s retirement, American men have claimed the last three 100m world titles in Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles with the latter also winning a hat-trick of 200m gold medals over that period.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Jamaica appeared to have the best possible chance when Kishane Thompson headed to the Games with the world’s fastest time of 9.77, but he lost to Lyles by the slimmest of margins, while in the women’s category, Jamaica did not have defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson due to injury while Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pulled out of her 100m semi-final for reasons that she did not reveal.
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08:35 - 17.12.2024
'Shoot first ask questions later'- Kishane Thompson reflects on nature of Jamaican sprint scene
Beholder of the Jamaican sprinting hope Kishane Thompson has opened up on the grueling nature of the Caribbean nation's sprinting scene and legacy.
It allowed St Lucia’s Julien Alfred to claim the 100m title ahead of American Sha’Carri Richardson, who had silenced the Jamaicans at the 2023 World Championships when she claimed the 100m gold, while Gabby Thomas won the 200m title.
However, Benjamin acknowledges the rivalry which he says has made him respect the Jamaicans even more even if the balance of power seems to be shifting.
“I understand it, you know,” Benjamin said during an interview on Antigua Observer’s Good Morning Jojo sporting highlights show as reported by the Jamaican Observer.
“When you guys have dominated the space for so many years — and when I say dominate I mean Usain, Asafa [Powell]… I saw Asafa the other night. We went out, me and Noah. I gave Asafa his flowers, and I said ‘Asafa, listen — you’re in my top five of all time.’ He and his wife were there. We had a good time.
“But when you dominate the space for so long you have respect for the greats — Bolt, Asafa, Yohan [Blake], Nesta Carter, all those guys — you have real, real respect for them. I feel like when you have Noah coming in and being the showman that he is, and saying ‘XYZ’, then Kishane popping up on the scene, you have some American counterparts saying, ‘Noah’s gonna beat Kishane’.”
Benjamin admits he thought the Jamaicans were back when Thompson clocked the world leading time at the Olympics trials.
“For a minute, when he [Thompson] ran that 9.77 at trials, I was like, ‘Damn, this kid is different.’ And he ran 9.77 and shut it down,” added Benjamin. “To hear the banter online, for me it was more so like, ‘That’s [Lyles] my teammate.’ I’m not really feeding into who ran fast when and where — you gotta do it on that day.
“So, for me, it was more of just me supporting my teammate — not necessarily diminishing the accomplishments of anyone else. We’re at the Olympics, I have the flag on, and anyone else that’s wearing the flag, I’m going to support. That’s really what it boils down to. I knew in a situation like that, Noah thrives; he thrives in big situations. Towards the end I was like, ‘Alright, we might win this thing.’
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12:00 - 19.12.2024
‘He would kill two birds with one stone’ - Why Justin Gatlin wants Noah Lyles to take seriously a race he claimed ‘nobody cares about’
The American sprint legend has advised Noah Lyles to reconsider his stance on the race as it has the potential to bring him more than he thinks he is getting from it.
“When he won I put a tweet out and man, I got torn up! Honestly.”
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