By Dan Murphy
The best chance for a Gold Medal for Westchester’s three top Olympians came less that a second short as Mt. Vernon native track star Rai Benjamin took home the silver medal in the 400 meter hurdles.
Benjamin lost to Norway’s Karsten Warholm, who finished the race with a new world record time of 45.94 seconds. Benjamin also eclipsed the world record with his 46.17 second race. The contest between the two is being called a race for the ages, and a great rivalry that will continue because both are young athletes.
After the race Benjamin said, “I think … no, that was the best race in Olympic history,” Benjamin said. “Three guys pretty much broke the world record and two lost. Nature of the beast. Never ran that fast before, so it’s just a matter of experience I would say.”
“But if you would have told me I was going to run 46.1 and lose, I would probably beat you up. And tell you to get out my room. But I’m happy to be part of history.”
Both Benjamin and Warholm are friendly. “The kid’s amazing, man. You can’t be mad at that at all,” said Benjamin who can’t wait for 2022 in Oregon and the next Olympics in Paris. “I’m excited for the next couple years to come.”
Pelham native Kate Douglass brought home a bronze medal for the Westchester community who was rooting for her at the Olympics in Tokyo Japan. Douglass, 19, finished third in the 200-meter individual medley with a personal best time of 2:09.04.
Douglass, who was a standout swimmer in Westchester for most of her teenage years, now swims for the University of Virginia. The Pelham Picture House hosted a watch party for Douglass on July 27.
The U.S. Women’s Swim team now has 11 medals, led by noted U.S. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky.
Ashley Twichell, age 32, from Mt. Kisco, swam in the 10k open water swim in Tokyo and finished 7th. Twichell’s appearance at her first ever Olympics made her the US swimming team’s oldest Olympian since 1908.
