USC junior Rai Benjamin tied Edwin Moses with the second-fastest 400m hurdles time ever, headlining a highlight day at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Friday.
Benjamin clocked 47.02 seconds in the rain at the last major meet at Hayward Field, which will be demolished and rebuilt for 2020. Only 1992 Olympic champion Kevin Young‘s world record of 46.78 seconds is faster. Benjamin lowered his personal best from 47.98.
The legendary Moses, a two-time Olympic champion who won 122 straight races in the 1980s, also ran 47.02 in 1983.
Benjamin is a runner without a country, reportedly born in the Bronx to parents from Antigua and Barbuda. The IAAF lists Benjamin with Antigua, but he said Friday that he’s still in the process of trying to switch to the U.S. The IAAF currently has a freeze on nation transfers, though, so Benjamin cannot compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships in two weeks.
NCAAS: Full Meet Results
Also Friday, USC sophomore Michael Norman ran the 11th-fastest 400m ever, winning in 43.61 seconds. Norman, fifth in the 2012 Olympic Trials 200m at age 18, now ranks sixth all-time in the event.
Norman trails Wayde van Niekerk (43.03), Michael Johnson (43.18), Butch Reynolds (43.29), Jeremy Wariner (43.45) and Quincy Watts (43.50) in 400m history.
Finally in the men’s steeplechase, Houston’s Brian Barraza crashed hard off a barrier on the last lap after leading the whole race. He finished 10th.
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LADIES & GENTLEMEN RAI BENJAMIN IS THE 🐐
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 9, 2018
COLLEGIATE RECORD ✅
MEET RECORD ✅
FACILITY RECORD ✅
FASTED TIME IN THE 🌎 ✅
2ND FASTEST TIME EVER ✅ pic.twitter.com/B7EsAXzSyK
4️⃣3️⃣.6️⃣1️⃣ INSANE!!! 😱😱😱 #ncaaTF pic.twitter.com/CmUxc1t8wv
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 9, 2018