"It's a waste of money"- 400m hurdles World Leader Rai Benjamin carries a 'no-bib' campaign at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix 2024

Rai Benjamin has proved his prowess as the second-fastest man in history in the 400m hurdles at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix 2024. Benjamin opened his 400m hurdles this season with an impressive world lead in the championship. Along with winning, his other motto was to spread awareness about the 'no bib' campaign in the competition.

The champion clocked a blistering 46.64 seconds setting the world lead at the LA Grand Prix 2024. He trounced Jamaican athlete Roshawn Clarke who clocked a score of 48.11. In the third position was Kyron McMaster who clocked his season's best with a time of 48.51.

Benjamin was seen promoting the "no bib" campaign while talking to Citius Mag after his victory. He considered the use of bibs as a waste of money and treated it as something that ruined the appearance of the uniform worn by the athlete. When the interviewer asked about his bib, the athlete stated,

"I'm not wearing that thing. It's a waste of money and the uniform looks too good to wear a bib, so I'm continuing my no bib campaign here today, so I'm happy you noticed."

Not just Benjamin, but the former track and field legend Michael Johnson also once shared his thoughts on wearing a bib.

"When an athlete is trying to focus on performing at their best, the bibs are a distraction," Johnson said as quoted by New York Times in 2023. The fastest, most efficient athletes in the world are competing with a piece of paper safety-pinned on. It just reeks of amateurism"

"Already forgetting about it" - Rai Benjamin opens up about opening his 400m hurdles with a world lead

In the same post-race interview with Citius Mag, Rai Benjamin opened up about clocking a world lead in his first 400m hurdles of the season. He was ecstatic about his win and is looking forward to getting done with his first one.

"Pretty good, just happy to get the first one out the way and actually run fast and trust my ability to run fast, Rai Benjamin stated. Ran 44.4 pretty easy a couple weeks ago so other Fitness is there, it's just a matter of getting the Rhythm down and just saying to myself, all right, just go for it."

Benjamin also revealed that he is not letting this win affect his confidence too much, since the Olympics is not now, it is still two months away, and he is not thinking about this win too much. He admitted he wants to focus on his upcoming races.

"I'm not trying to think too much on it, to be honest, because the Olympics aren't today, which is May 18th, it's in August, so just keep the ball rolling and focus on running well there. So, this one was great. I'm already forgetting about it and focusing on next week," the 26-year-old said.

Before the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, Rai Benjamin competed at the Mt. Sac Relays and won the 400m event, clocking 44.42 seconds.