Associated Press
Sep 19, 2025, 09:05 AM ET
TOKYO -- American Rai Benjamin was declared the winner of the 400-meter hurdles at the world championships Friday after officials overrode an initial disqualification for slightly dislodging a hurdle in the lane next to him when he knocked over his own.
Femke Bol of the Netherlands defended her title in the women's race in a run of 51.54.
Benjamin was cruising to victory when he clipped the 10th and final hurdle. The contact moved the barrier in the lane to his left, but the runner in that lane -- several steps behind -- cleared it without a problem.
Some confusion followed, as Benjamin was initially disqualified. About a minute later, World Athletics undid the "DQ," and Benjamin was walking around the track with a gold medal and wearing a gold crown.
He finished in 46.52 seconds to add the world title to the Olympic gold he took last year.
Benjamin had such a gap on 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos in the men's race that he won by .32 seconds despite knocking over the final barrier.
Abderrahman Samba of Qatar, whose 46.98 in 2018 was the first sub-47 time among this generation's talented crop of hurdlers, finished third. Karsten Warholm, who ran the world-record 45.94 to win the Olympics four years ago on this same track in Tokyo, ended up fifth this time.
In the women's race, America's Jasmine Jones posted a personal best of 52.08 to capture silver behind Bol, and Emma Zapletalova beat Olympic runner-up Anna Cockrell to the line for bronze.
Dalilah Muhammad, the American 2016 Olympic and 2019 world champion, finished seventh in what she has said will be her final race.
World record watch in heptathlon
Watch out, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Heptathlete Anna Hall is in pursuit of your world championship record. Maybe even your world record.
Joyner-Kersee set the world championships record of 7,128 points in 1987. Her world record mark stands at 7,291, which she set in winning gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Hall finished Day 1 of the event with 4,154 points to take a 248-point lead over Kate O'Connor of Ireland, with reigning Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam lurking (3,818 points). There are three events remaining: the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.
Hall joined the 7,000-point club earlier this season with a score of 7,032 points, which is tied for the second-best mark of all time. In that competition, Hall had 4,161 points after the Day 1 events.
Triple jump champ Pichardo feels at home in Tokyo
There's something about this stadium that brings out the best in triple jumper Pedro Pichardo of Portugal. And he needed it on his final jump.
Pichardo, the Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games in 2021, saw Andrea Dallavalle of Italy take over the lead in the final round with a personal-best jump of 17.64 meters. Pichardo, 32, responded with a leap of 17.91 meters to secure gold.
He knew his attempt was a winner and strutted out of the sand pit. He looked into the camera and said, "Who's the best, baby?"
On this night, there was no question: Pichardo. He also won the event at the 2022 world championships in Eugene, Oregon.
