By Neto Baptiste
USA 400 meters hurdler and gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics Rai Benjamin has labelled news regarding the non-registration of a number of young Antigua and Barbuda athletes for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships as “irresponsible”.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, Benjamin who represented Antigua and Barbuda at the junior level, said the young athletes deserve better.
“The system failed you guys and don’t let this deter you. There is Carifta coming up and coaches are still watching and you have the ability to perform there as well but that’s a tough one and kind of sad and pretty irresponsible in my opinion,” he said.
Reports are that officials within the Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA) charged with finalising the registration of the five athletes, failed to do so before an extended deadline of August 12.
The US-born athlete said he could not comprehend how such an oversight could have occurred.
“How do you not enter these kids in this meet? It’s just too much politics for a situation that should be so simple because you submit some names, the federation pays for whatever it is and that’s really it. I am not really down for the politics and to be talking to somebody like countless times over one thing that could be so simple.
“I feel like those kids deserve a lot more and all anyone ever needs is an opportunity and if you’re taking away such a big opportunity like that from them, then that sucks because what happens is that you go to these meets and there are a lot of college recruiters there; like a lot,” he said.
Benjamin, who won gold in the 400 meters hurdles with a time of 46.46 and gold in the 4×400 meters, said news of the recent debacle brought back memories as to why he would have opted to switch his allegiance to the USA in 2018. He recounted his experiences at two meets as a junior athlete.
“It was just me and — I think his name was Cornelius — and I didn’t really see him that much and you’re a 15-year-old kid in a foreign country and there was no formal meeting or anything like that and I was just like cool.
“I remember we did World Relays as well, too, and it was me, Cejhae Greene, Miguel Francis, Bakka [Daniel Bailey] and Tahir Walsh, and if I didn’t have those guys then I would have been on my own a little bit too. I just didn’t like the disorganisation and not knowing where to be. Then somebody didn’t want to run and it was just a mess and I was like, ‘I can’t keep doing this to be honest’,” the athlete said.
Benjamin, the son of former West Indies fast bowler Winston Benjamin and Gale Mason, both of Antigua, represented the twin-island state in the 400 meters hurdles at the 2013 World Youth Championships held in Donetsk, Ukraine, before winning a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 2015 CARIFTA Games also under the Antigua and Barbuda banner.
