SNELLVILLE, Ga. — A nail-biting race in the 400-meter hurdles ended in a silver Olympic medal for Team USA thanks to Rai Benjamin this week.
The American hurdler finished the event with a time of 46.17 seconds to bring home the second place win. Benjamin finished right after Norway's Karsten Warholm, who set an astonishing world record in the race with a time of 45.94s.
Though the 24-year-old was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, his family in the Deep South made sure to support him in his race from across the world while he ran for a medal in Tokyo.
Benjamin's Georgia family gathered in Snellville, all while sporting t-shirts that read "Tokyo Olympics 2020. King Ben. Our hero."
They all exploded with excitement, jumping and cheering as they watched him set an American record and surpass world class athletes from Brazil, British Virgin Islands, and more.
"Go Rai! Go Rai! Go Rai!," Benjamin's family chanted as they rose from their seats.
Fans on social media were in awe.
Benjamin expressed his gratitude for the support on social media after the race.
"Made history. Love you guys so much. Your words don’t go unnoticed," a tweet stated.
Benjamin went on to anchor the U.S. 4x400- meter relay team the next day, bringing the Americans to first place to win gold in the event.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are Benjamin's first Olympics games.