Samba’s return adds extra spark to Warholm–Benjamin–Dos Santos clash in Tokyo

The men’s 400m hurdles is set for another historic showdown in Tokyo, where the three fastest in history — Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos — renew their rivalry with the world record always under threat. Joining them is Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, the Asian record-holder and 2019 world bronze medallist, who has returned to form this season and could disrupt the established trio’s dominance.Samba, who has constantly struggled with injuries, has clocked 47.09 at the Paris Diamond League meeting to finish second behind Benjamin. His personal best is the Asian record of 46.98 he ran in Paris in 2018.But its Warholm, Benjamin and dos Santos who have built a rivalry that has taken their event into a new era.Norway's Warholm is the world record-holder with 45.94 from the Tokyo Olympics, USA's Benjamin was second in that Olympic final in 46.17 and claimed the Olympic crown in Paris, while Brazil's Dos Santos ran a championship record of 46.29 when winning the 2022 world title in Oregon.It has been like this for years. Now they return to Tokyo, four years on from that magnificent Olympic clash in an empty stadium due to the pandemic. They are ready to put on another show, this time with a crowd to watch.Warholm arrives in Tokyo with the world-leading time. He clocked the third-fastest time in history – 46.28 – at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia, just weeks before the World Championships. It is a time that only he and Benjamin have ever beaten."Hungry for more,” Warholm wrote on social media, sharing a picture of him beside his result on the clock. After that he ran 46.70 to win his third Diamond League title in Zurich.Benjamin’s best this season is 46.54, achieved when winning at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm ahead of Dos Santos and Warholm, while Dos Santos has a season’s best of 46.65, set when winning at the Diamond League event in Eugene ahead of Benjamin.The trio four years ago presented the fastest final in 400m hurdles history, when all three of them went under 46.78 – the time by Kevin Young that had stood as the world record for almost 29 years until Warholm first broke it in Oslo.Since the Warholm coronation in Tokyo, they have been changing positions over time. Dos Santos got gold in 2022 at the World Championships in Oregon in 46.29, and the year after that Warholm won in Budapest with 46.89.At the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, another change: Benjamin dethroned Warholm to win gold. He is the only one among the trio, however, who is yet to claim a world 400m hurdles title."Everyday breaking records, I guess things are just happening fast,” wrote Benjamin after winning the US title, his final race ahead of Tokyo, while Dos Santos shared photos from his final training sessions to the sounds of a Brazilian rapper named Djonga who sings: "I am not afraid, I am hungry.”Africa is also represented, as Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel ran a national record of 47.31 to finish between Warholm and Samba in Silesia, while Benjamin’s US team-mates Caleb Dean and Chris Robinson have both run 47.76 this year.