Upon his son’s gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris Winston Benjamin said, – ‘I know how hard it was for him and how much he really wanted it’ 

One of the six offspring of former West Indian sprinter Winston Benjamin, Rai Benjamin, just won a gold medal for the United States in the 400-meter hurdles, extending the country’s illustrious history in track and field competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Winston, who was known for his unwavering calmness when he was a fierce fast bowler in the legendary West Indies cricket period, was extremely happy for his son’s success. Winston, who always avoids showing emotion, was obviously ecstatic about Rai’s accomplishment. He was quite proud, especially considering how much work and determination Rai had put into his pursuit of fame.

It’s an odd sensation. It was a weird moment; I have never met somebody who would have felt the same way. Winston was cited as saying, “I’m very happy for his achievement because I know how much he worked, how hard it was for him, and how much he really wanted it.”

In addition, he compared the Olympics to a World Cup final, saying he had never felt anything as strange as he did when his son won the gold medal and he was applauding in front of an enthralled audience at the Stade de France.

“I compare the Olympics to the World Cup final.” No, this is not how I’ve ever felt. I mean, I’m not a particularly emotional person. Despite my happiness, I have a tendency to internalise it. But it’s a strange time, you know,” Winston said.

I encouraged him to pursue athletics from the beginning: Winston Benjamin

Rai tried his hand at American football and cricket first, first as a quarterback and later as a fast bowler, before settling on track and field. His latent ability was seen by Antigua’s athletics coach, who encouraged him to pursue a career in athletics. Rai played for Antigua before moving to the United States.

In this regard, Winston said he would back Rai to the hilt as soon as he had carefully honed in on the sport he wanted to play. He exuded great joy and satisfaction at witnessing Rai reach the height of accomplishment he had long sought.

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“At first, he didn’t really seem to be there for me. From the beginning, I encouraged him to pursue his choice of athletics. “I’m thrilled for him,” Winston continued. Over the course of his remarkable career, Winston took wickets in 61 Test matches and 100 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) over 21 and 85 matches, respectively.