
By Neto Baptiste
Former national youth athlete and USA hurdler, Ambassador Rai Benjamin, continues to support track and field in Antigua and, with his latest endeavour, has provided athletic kits to the top performers in the recently held Cool & Smooth National Track & Field Championships.
The initiative is a partnership between the professional athlete and his sponsors Nike, the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment.
In a video message to the athletes during Sunday night’s presentation ceremony at the YASCO Sports Complex, Benjamin wished all the competitors the best in their future endeavours.
“First and foremost, congratulations to all of the athletes that have competed this weekend and your hard work does not go unnoticed. I would just like to thank my sponsors for partnering with me to provide all the gear necessary for you guys and I wish you guys continued success as you guys prepare for your future and for future competition. I am preparing to compete for a gold this summer in the upcoming Olympics so I am happy to help out and hopefully I can continue helping out and I hope you guys enjoy the products sent to you,” he said.
In addition to providing kits to the top performers during the Inter-schools, each competing school was provided with two kits for their most promising male and female athletes.
Former West Indies fast bowler Winston Benjamin, who is also the father of Rai Benjamin, was on hand to make the presentation on Sunday, revealing that the packages are valued US$6,500.00 in total.
“I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all the athletes success in their future endeavour. It is said that hard work does pay off and I think that I can honestly say that is so. To the staff at the Ministry of Sports, they are ones who have made this possible. It’s a very expensive undertaking and he is one of those persons who likes to show gratitude and I think this is one of the ways in which he shows his gratitude along with his sponsors, Nike,” he said.
Rai, also a former student of the Antigua Grammar School, is the second fastest man in history in the 400 meters hurdles with a personal best time of 46.17 seconds. He won silver medals at his first Olympic Games in 2021 and at the World Championships in 2019 and 2022 in the men’s 400 meters hurdles, and gold medals in the 4×400 meters relay in 2019 and 2021.
The athlete won a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 2015 CARIFTA Games for Antigua and Barbuda.