The last time Rai Benjamin set a personal best in the 400m was more than a year before he won the Gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in 400m hurdles. It was a 44.21-second run at the USC Trojan Invitational. In fact, since that race in LA, he’s raced 400m flats just twice, not coming close to winning either time. Add that to the fact that it was essentially reigning World Champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi vs. everyone else at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic, and nobody gave the man in lane nine a chance. But he defied expectations, breaking a new personal best, and feels things went well for him, given the quality of the track.

The 28-year-old, who clocked a 44.11, said: “I think it went perfect,” as he finished second behind Botswana’s Kebinatshipi.

“As good as it can be for right now and where we are in no man’s land, so I really don’t have anyone to run off of but myself, so I had to go out and really like run strong and stay confident.

“Lifetime best, so that’s all I could really ask for in a situation like this with the field that stacked. Being out there in lane nine, all week I was like, yeah, I got to channel my inner Kobe. Wade broke the world record out of lane nine, so I can go out there and do something special out of lane nine,” Benjamin added.

Benjamin started the race brilliantly and led the field into the bend. However, Kebinatshipi, who is known for finishing strongly, stayed within striking distance before making his move in the closing stages.

Benjamin pushed the reigning world champion to his limits, forcing him to raise the pace around the 300-meter mark. Up to that point, Benjamin had built a commanding lead, with the commentators believing he had the race under control. But Kebinatshipi responded by shifting into another gear and steadily reeled him in. Combined with the energy Benjamin had already expended to build his advantage, the late surge proved too much, as he began to fade over the final 50 meters.

It gave Kebinatshipi an opening, and as many have learned since he burst onto the scene, you simply don’t give someone like him a chance. The 22-year-old took it, put his foot down, and surged past Benjamin to win the Eugene Diamond League race. He crossed the line 0.11 seconds ahead of the American despite posting his second-slowest time of the 2026 season, faster only than his 44.55-second run at the season opener.

For Kebinatshipi, the victory wasn’t as comfortable as the finishing margin suggested. After chasing Benjamin down in the closing stages, the Botswanana admitted it took far more out of him than he expected.

Collen Kebinatshipi reflects on his DL race

Since his Paris 2024 heartbreak, where he got knocked out of the semi-finals despite posting a PB (at the time) of 44.43, Kebinatshipi has bounced back strong. He kicked off the 2025 season with a 44.53 in the Xiamen DL, then a 44.51 in the London DL.  By the time he hit the World Championships in Tokyo, Kebinatshipi was at his peak and clocked a personal best of 43.53 to win gold. Now in a comparatively slower year with no Olympics or World Championships, the 22-year-old has taken things somewhat easier.

He’s raced only three 400m races going into the Eugene DL with a best of 43.54, registered during the Paris DL.

That put Kebinatshipi second in the world behind Samuel Ogazi (43.38), and it left Benjamin reeling. Even then, Kebinatshipi was rather diplomatic when discussing the race, touching on his tactics.

“That’s why you saw me being a bit aggressive at the start and trying to maintain all the way to the finishing line, which worked for me, even though I didn’t run sub 44,” Kebinatshipi said after the race. “It’s fine because it was a bit windy on the back, but you know, these are some of the challenges that we have to come across during the season to make ourselves strong.” 

While Kebinatshipi walked away with the win, Benjamin left Eugene with plenty of reasons to be optimistic. A lifetime best from lane nine against the reigning world champion suggests the American is closing the gap, setting the stage for another fascinating chapter in one of track and field’s emerging rivalries.