American Rai Benjamin outpaced rivals Alison Dos Santos and Karsten Warholm to claim a first world 400 metres hurdles title on Friday — and survived a brief disqualification too.
Benjamin was briefly stripped of victory after he hit the last hurdle and it moved into the neighbouring lane, before being reinstated after a US team appeal.
The 2024 Olympic champion, who has two previous world silvers and a bronze to his name, clocked a season’s best time of 46.52sec for victory at the National Stadium.
Brazil’s 2022 world champion Dos Santos took silver in 46.84sec, with Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba rounding out the podium in 47.06sec.
There was heartbreak for Warholm, who previously won world titles in 2017, 2019 and 2023, and who claimed gold on this same Tokyo track at the Covid-delayed 20