In a bit of controversy, Rai Benjamin has won the men’s 400m hurdles at the World Championships in Japan.
Benjamin initially won the race in a time of 46.52 seconds, but the celebrations were cut short as a referee review showed Benjamin had knocked down the final hurdle on his way to the finish line, violating World Athletics rule 22.6.3: knocking down or displacing a hurdle in another lane.
The race referee made the judgment call, disqualifying Benjamin, on the basis that the knocked hurdle had impeded Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel, who had finished just one spot off the podium.
It was a shocking revelation as Benjamin was celebrating with a crown on his head when the news initially broke.
That disqualification did not stand as moments later, a video judge overruled the referee’s ruling after a replay showed that while Benjamin’s falling hurdle moved the top right corner of Nathaniel’s hurdle, it did not impede him or affect the outcome of the race, and on that basis, Benjamin was reinstated as the winner.
