American Rai Benjamin was temporarily disqualified minutes after winning gold in the men's 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, only to be reinstated as champion following a reversal of the decision.
The 28-year-old knocked over the final hurdle but crossed the line first in 46.52 seconds. The collision moved the hurdle into the path of Nigeria's Ezekiel Nathaniel, who finished fourth. Officials initially disqualified Benjamin, promoting Brazil's Alison Dos Santos to gold and Qatar's Ismail Doudai Abakar to silver, while Norway's Karsten Warholm placed fifth.
Benjamin described the confusion: 'I was trying to control my emotions. You work so hard to get here, finally win, now you're getting DQ'd because of hurdle 10.' He argued that his action was unintentional and did not impede any runner. The decision was later overturned, restoring Benjamin to first place and dropping Nathaniel back to fourth.
Former athletes criticised the initial disqualification. Jessica Ennis-Hill called it 'unfair,' noting Benjamin did not hit the hurdle on purpose and it did not affect the standings. Colin Jackson added that the trail leg must clear the barrier completely.
Warholm, a pre-race favourite, described his performance as a 'disaster,' citing a strain in his left thigh that affected his race. He crashed the third hurdle and finished well outside the medals.
