• not edwin moses
      • Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/2/2018 5:05PM
      • not edwin moses
      • “There’s no need for me for me to do 400 hurdles anymore. It’s been a long collegiate season and it’s time to rest up a bit, so I won’t be racing Samba until next year,” Benjamin told Mike Rowbottom of the IAAF.

        “Of course, of course (it will happen) during the championships part of the season. But at the moment, I’m getting the best out of the circuit, and it’s toward the end of the season for me.”

        https://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/michael-norman-rai-benjamin-diamond-league
    • raiguyhall
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/2/2018 5:17PM - in reply to not edwin moses
      • raiguyhall
      • Smart decision - knows he won't race his best after a long NCAA season...save it for 2019.
    • rojo
      co-founder
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/2/2018 5:34PM - in reply to raiguyhall
      • rojo
        co-founder
      • He just nearly broke the WR. He just ran a 200 pb. How do you know he wouldn't break the WR in his next race? I think it's a smart decision if you are his coach (but really lame for us fans) as I think it's always good to leave the athlete wanting more, but then again look at Jager, will he ever break 8:00?
    • C/M Runner
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 7:55AM - in reply to rojo
      • C/M Runner
        registered
      • Oh boo. :-(
    • El Keniano
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 8:04AM - in reply to not edwin moses
      • El Keniano
        registered
      • ? yank rightly scared of Samba. Only westerners dodge the competition, by the way. Africans don’t care.
    • C/M Runner
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 8:38AM - in reply to El Keniano
      • C/M Runner
        registered
      • El Keniano wrote:

        ? yank rightly scared of Samba. Only westerners dodge the competition, by the way. Africans don’t care.

        Perhaps because money is the incentive - the more you run, the more chances you have to win and get the winner's purse...
    • Larry David
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 11:47AM - in reply to El Keniano
      • Larry David
        registered
      • El Keniano wrote:

        ? yank

        Benjamin isn't American.
    • ehrkwashdjkh
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 11:55AM - in reply to Larry David
      • ehrkwashdjkh
      • Maybe he doesn't want to break the world record until he is officially American.
    • Just Another LRC Idiot
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 12:49PM - in reply to ehrkwashdjkh
      • Just Another LRC Idiot
      • ehrkwashdjkh wrote:

        Maybe he doesn't want to break the world record until he is officially American.
        Maybe he doesn't want to break the world record until he gets a sponsor who pays hefty bonus for the world record.
    • Hardloper
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 12:51PM - in reply to Larry David
      • Hardloper
        registered
      • Larry David wrote:

        Benjamin isn't American.

        Yes he is...
    • D2sprinter
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 12:53PM - in reply to Hardloper
      • D2sprinter
      • Hardloper wrote:

        Larry David wrote:

        Benjamin isn't American.

        Yes he is...

        +100
    • 10mspecialist
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 1:08PM - in reply to D2sprinter
      • 10mspecialist
      • If you look at any USC sprinter who is coached by Caryl Smith Gilbert you will see they compete at their shorter events following the NCAA season. Aaron Brown, Andre Degrasse, Beejay Lee all did the same thing. I don't believe she thinks athletes can hold an extended peak of their endurance qualities based on how she sets up training. I would be surprised in Benjamin or Norman run anything over 200m for the rest of the season.
    • malmo
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 5:16PM - in reply to rojo
      • malmo
        registered
      • rojo wrote:
        but really lame for us fans?

        So were you one of Rai Benjamin's many 'fans' before 2018?

        His season is over. He can run 200s and open 400s for himself this Summer, until he gets tired.
    • SprintTriathlon
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 5:47PM - in reply to not edwin moses
      • SprintTriathlon
        registered
      • He knows that someone will offer him a lot of money to hurdle, so he waits for the offer.
    • Dem diamondz
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 5:55PM - in reply to not edwin moses
      • Dem diamondz
      • It’s probably because he has a better chance at the DL final at 200 than 400h at this point. Only one 400h remaining and he has 0 points, so making the final would be tough or impossible.

        If he makes the 200 final he will get some $ (and probably pick up a 2nd world ranking which will be more $).
    • Dem diamondz
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 6:17PM - in reply to Dem diamondz
      • Dem diamondz
      • Just checked. Even if Benjamin ran and won the hurdles in Lausanne he wouldn’t make the DL final unless some guys scratch.
    • Oops!
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 9:40PM - in reply to Larry David
      • Oops!
      • Larry David wrote:

        [quote]El Keniano wrote:

        ? yank

        Benjamin isn't American.[/quote

        Sure gotcha there, didn't he?
    • llort_vbo
      registered
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 40 7/3/2018 10:13PM - in reply to El Keniano
      • llort_vbo
        registered
      • El Keniano wrote:

        ? yank rightly scared of Samba. Only westerners dodge the competition, by the way. Africans don’t care.

        Well it's hard to recover without all the pharmaceutical help in East Africa, so our runners need to recover....
    • Payday
      • RE: Is he scared? Or just shrewd? Rai Benjamin announces he'll be duck Samba for the rest of the year, won't race another 400h 7/3/2018 10:15PM - in reply to Oops!
      • Payday
      • I understand what he is doing, but it is still Bullshit. Let's say he holds out until next year to Go for the record. Tomorrow is not promised. What if he gets hurt or next year things aren't as great as this year. Not wishing any harm or bad will to the guy, but you have to strike while the iron is hot. Break the record and then go to Nike or whoever and renegotiate Or at least get under 47. Working on his 200 is fine and all, but he needs to run one more 400m hurdle race against Samba. Even if he loses, he will have experienced racing the guy and get ready for next year. I understand that running in the NCAA's and then racing on the international circuit is tough, but how many times do you get to break a WR?