Rai Benjamin

"I realized I was starting to open up a little bit of a gap and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, am I going to win?’ I probably was looking around way too much. But in my mind I was like, ‘Is this really happening right now? That’s what was going through my head. It was just adrenaline and just taking in the moment of, ‘Wow, this is incredible. Is this really happening?’ Then just trying to dig deep to finish the race."

Kenneth Rooks just brought home a silver medal in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase at the Paris Olympics. How’d he do it? Well, if you haven’t watched the race yet. Go on NBC Sports’ YouTube channel, watch it and then pick this podcast back up because he comes from the back of the pack to nearly pull off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. His final time of 8:06.41 shattered his personal best by an astounding nine seconds and makes him the second-fastest American ever in this event.

Kenneth’s past 14 months have been amazing. Just a year ago, he was relatively unknown on the international stage, but after winning the NCAA title, the U.S. Championships in dramatic fashion by falling and getting back up and now an Olympic silver, he’s shown the world what he’s capable of. We have at least two past episodes with Kenneth that you can go back and listen to.

In a race dominated by the likes of world record holder Lamecha Girma and defending Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali, Kenneth’s surge in the final lap put everyone on notice. He boldly took the lead with 400 meters to go, and although El Bakkali eventually reclaimed the top spot, Kenneth’s audacious run secured him a place in history.

It was one of the biggest surprises of the Games but Kenneth takes us through why he believes it was possible, the training it took to get there and why he believes he can go a little faster. He’s just 24 years old and just getting started.

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Kenneth Rooks | ⁠⁠⁠@kenneth_rooks on Instagram

TIME STAMPS

5:35 - Reflecting on his experience at the Olympics

7:12 - The support he received from his family and the BYU community

10:09 - His improvement between the U.S. Trials and the Olympics

14:04 - What stood out most from the steeplechase prelim

16:06 - When he shifted his mindset to going for a medal + his race plan

19:41 - Rai Benjamin’s parting words to him before the final

20:26 - Breaking down the bell lap of the final

23:02 - “The Kenneth Rooks side-eye”

27:15 - Reactions after finishing the steeplechase final

30:05 - Coach Ed Eyestone’s reaction to him getting silver

31:12 - How he celebrated after

32:35 - What's next for him this season

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The Paris Olympics are finally here! After months, if not years, of lead-up, the biggest quadrennial meet in the world will hit the purple track in style with medals, records, and glory on the line.

Previewing the men's and women's sprint events and athletes to keep an eye out for at the Paris Olympics: Sha'Carri Richardson, Shelly-Ann Frase-Pryce, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Femke Bol, Marileidy Paulino, Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway, Kishane Thompson Rai Benjamin, and more.

You can also read our comprehensive previews on CITIUSMAG.com here ⤵️

MEN: https://citiusmag.com/articles/paris-olympics-2024-mens-sprints-preview

WOMEN: https://citiusmag.com/articles/paris-olympics-2024-womens-sprints-preview

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: Mac Fleet | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@macfleet on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: Mitch Dyer | @metchosketch on Instagram

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Last one, fast one?!

The final day of the Olympic Trials was one for the history books. In every. single. event. that took place on the tracks yesterday afternoon, the Olympic Trials meet record was broken. In multiple events, simply qualifying for Team USA meant you had to produce a performance that ranked in the U.S. top-10 of all time.

12.37 in the 100m hurdles, 3:56.75 in the women’s 1500m, and 1:44.12 in the men’s 800m were only good enough for fourth place. The mantra of “iron sharpens iron” normally applies to training groups, but it certainly also applies to American track and field right now. When being top 10 in the world is not a guarantee of being top 3 in the U.S., the choice is simple: you elevate your game or you go home.

The afternoon began with the 5000m final, where last year’s U.S. champ Abdi Nur and this year’s 10,000m champ Grant Fisher treated the fans to an epic duel over the final few laps. It took a sub-4 1600m to break the rest of the field, and in the final strides, Fisher was able to re-pass Nur and get his second title of the week, the first time he’s completed the 10/5 double. Behind them, it was a similar battle for third between collegians Parker Wolfe and Graham Blanks, and it’s still not clear whether Wolfe or Blanks will end up on Team USA. Wolfe needs a few scratches in the world rankings ahead of him, and Blanks has the auto standard.

In the men’s 800m, Bryce Hoppel won his sixth straight U.S. title (counting indoors), but he did it in the fastest time of his career, a 1:42.77. His training partner Hobbs Kessler snagged third and qualifies for both the 800m and 1500m, the first time an American man has done that since 1976. In the women’s 100m hurdles, you could throw a blanket over the whole field with two hurdles remaining, but it was Masai Russell who closed the best and clocked a 12.25, the good for #4 on the world all-time list.

Rai Benjamin did Rai Benjamin things in the men’s 400m hurdles, cruising to a 46.47 world lead and meet record well ahead of the competition. The women’s 1500m was an absolute battle — more on that below. And then we closed the weekend with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

McLaughlin-Levrone is used to being the star of the show, and honestly her biggest competition is usually the shadow of her past self. In the 400m hurdles final she had the benefit of a fast-starting Anna Cockrell on her outside, who stayed even with the Olympic champ for the first three hurdles and kept the pressure on early. But the real difference was that, coming around the final turn, McLaughlin-Levrone didn’t shut it down like she normally does through the rounds, instead powering down the homestretch to an incredible new world record 50.65.

For those keeping score at home, that’s the fifth time McLaughlin-Levrone has lowered the world record. When she started, the world record she was breaking was Dalilah Muhammad’s 52.16 from 2019, and now it’s an incredible 1.51 seconds faster.

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Did you miss us?!

The U.S. Olympic Trials are back and better than ever in the second half of the 8-day program, with incredible drama, upsets, and underdog stories across the board.

The race of the day (and perhaps the week?) was the women’s steeplechase, where a fast early pace and a topsy-turvy final lap ended with a whole slew of personal bests and rewriting of the record books. Tokyo Olympian Val Constien ended up on top thanks to a phenomenal final 400m, running 9:03.22 to PR by 11 seconds and land at #3 on the U.S. all-time list. Constien had ACL surgery last year and after a long road back is better than ever.

We got our first peeks at the 400m hurdles crew, and the main takeaway from the first round is that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin are looking like world beaters out for an easy jog. McLaughlin-Levrone in particular shut it down entirely over the final two laps and still ran 53.07, the third-fastest performance in the world this year behind her own season’s best and Femke Bol’s world lead.

Speaking of first looks, Erriyon Knighton doesn’t seem to have missed a step as he ran his first 200m in four months, cruising through the first round with a 20.15 just behind Noah Lyles’s 20.10 in an earlier heat. And a stacked final is set for the 5000m, where reigning U.S. champ Abdi Nur takes on two of the three members of Team USA in the 10,000m, the 1500m Trials champ, and two NCAA champs.

The middle-distance rounds will continue to get more and more cutthroat, with the women’s 1500m featuring Elle St. Pierre, Heather MacLean, Cory McGee, Emily MacKay, Elise Cranny, Nikki Hiltz, Sinclaire Johnson, and more heading to the semis and Olympians Bryce Hoppel and Clayton Murphy looking ready to once again do battle in the 800m.

Another jam-packed weekend of results unpacked by Chris Chavez and Anderson Emerole.

This Week In Track and Field

– Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin Dominated At The LA Grand Prix

– Noah Lyles ties the American record in the 150m at the Atlanta City Games + highlights

– The Rabat Diamond League was a bit of a dud

– Kenenisa Bekele Has Been Named To The Olympic Marathon Team For Ethiopia

– What We’re Looking Forward To The Most At The Prefontaine Classic

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: Anderson Emerole | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@atkoeme on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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🏴 BANDIT RUNNING: Bandit's support of unsponsored track and field athletes at the U.S. Olympic Trials is back with their Unsponsored Project. Last year, Bandit partnered with several athletes by supplying those athletes with custom, unbranded Bandit singlets to help them stand out and underscore their unsponsored status.

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"But there are not a lot of Black cyclists that ride, obviously. Justin Williams' whole thing is about getting more Black people on bikes and just people on bikes in general. It was awesome because I've never met those guys before and they knew nothing about me and it was completely welcoming and friendly. It's a great community. Everyone wants to help out. Everyone wants to invite you to these social rides. You're not just addicted to riding but more being in a setting with those people."

We all know Rai Benjamin from the many global medals, but this interview is not about any of that. This fall I saw that the Mt. Vernon native had taken up a new activity, one that is most usually reserved for retired distance runners like myself. We caught up last week because I was intrigued to hear more about how and why the American record holder at the 400m hurdles had become such a serious cyclist during the off-season.

You can read the full interview from The Lap Count newsletter here: https://citiusmag.com/articles/the-lap-count-rai-benjamin-interview-on-cycling

Hosted by: Kyle Merber – @kylemerber on Instagram

Guest: Rai Benjamin – @kingben on Instagram

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And that’s a wrap on the 2023 World Championships! Kyle Merber, Jasmine Todd, David Melly and David McCarthy break down the ninth and final day of the meet, where we saw a thrilling 800m final on the women’s side, an electric final lap to cap off a tactical 5000m on the men’s side, a shocking finish in the women’s 4x400m relay and so much more. Day 9 in Budapest did not disappoint!

Here are a few highlights from the last day of the World Championships: 

– Women’s 800m: Mary Moraa won the stacked final in a personal best of 1:56.03 + Keely Hodgkinson snuck through on the inside for silver in 1:56.34 + Athing Mu faded to third in 1:56.61.

– Men’s 1500m: Back-to-back 5000m golds for Jakob Ingebrigtsen! Ingebrigtsen and Mo Katir dusted the field in the final 400m to run 13:11.33 and 13:11.40.

– Women’s 4x400m relay: Femke Bol showed that she can deliver on relays, moving from 3rd to 1st in the final 100m to give the Netherlands the victory in 3:20.72.

– Men’s 4x400m relay: Team USA won its 30th medal through the men’s 4x400m! The quartet of Quincy Hall, Vernon Norwood, Justin Robinson and Rai Benjamin put on a dominant performance, winning the race in 2:57.31.

– Men’s marathon: Victor Kiplangat claimed the victory in 2:08:53 + Zach Panning ran 2:11:21 to place 13th as the top American.

– Lots more!

As an official partner of World Athletics, ASICS is proud to support all of CITIUS MAG’s content throughout this year’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. CITIUS MAG is the premier destination for real-time competition updates, in-depth analysis and interviews with your favorite track and field athletes.

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.). 

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will be also available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows. 

DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures.

Just two days after the 400m hurdle final, Rai Benjamin (2023 World Championship Silver Medalist) and Trevor Bassitt return to CITIUS MAG's HQ to unpack their experience at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, share some ideas on things they'd like to see fixed within the sport and more.

Hosts: Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber

Guest: Rai Benjamin, Trevor Bassitt

CITIUS MAG's coverage of the 2023 World Athletics Championships is powered by ASICS.

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.). 

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will also be available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows. 

DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures.

Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, Jasmine Todd, and David Melly are once again joined by guest host Mitch Dyer to break down a jam-packed day at the World Athletics Championships! Day 5 was highlighted by finals in the men’s 1500m, women’s 400m, men’s 400m hurdles, and women’s pole vault among other events.

A few of Day 5’s most notable moments include:

–  Men’s 1500m: Josh Kerr ran 3:29.38 to deny Jakob Ingebrigtsen the gold medal + Narve Nordãs snagged bronze to round out the top three.

– Women’s pole vault: Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy became co-World champions in the women’s pole vault following an epic battle ending in a pair of world-leading 4.90m vaults.

– Men’s 400m hurdles final: Karsten Warholm is once again king of the 400m hurdles with a 46.89 victory + Rai Benjamin took home bronze after a season filled with setbacks.

– Women’s 5000m semifinal: 10 women broke 15 minutes, led by a 14:32.29 tape-to-tape performance by Sifan Hassan.

– Marileidy Paulino finally got her gold with a 48.76 victory and Dominican national record.

• Much more

As an official partner of World Athletics, ASICS is proud to support all of CITIUS MAG’s content throughout this year’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. CITIUS MAG is the premier destination for real-time competition updates, in-depth analysis and interviews with your favorite track and field athletes.

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.). 

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will be also available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows. 

DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures.

IT’S THE SHA’CARRI SHOW! Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber and Jasmine Todd break down all the excitement from Day 3 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Day 3 was electric – we saw Shar’Carri take the women’s 100m victory, Grant Holloway become a three-time world champion, and the stadium fans go wild for all of tonight’s field events.

A few of the most memorable moments of the evening include: 

– Women’s 100m: Sha’Carri Richardson sneaked into the semifinal only to turn around and claim gold in the final! Shericka Jackson placed runner-up and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce rounded out the top three.

– Men’s 110m semifinal: Grant Holloway takes the gold medal + Daniel Roberts comes home with the bronze. Freddie Crittendale places fourth to get three U.S. men in the top four

–  Women’s Pole Vault: Hana Moll breaks the U.S. high school pole vault record in the qualifying round

– Men’s 400m hurdles semifinal: Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin crush the semifinal and will battle it out in the final 

– Women’s 400m hurdles prelim: Femke Bol effortlessly wins her semifinal heat after falling in the mixed 4x400m relay two days earlier

– Much more...

As an official partner of World Athletics, ASICS is proud to support all of CITIUS MAG’s content throughout this year’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. CITIUS MAG is the premier destination for real-time competition updates, in-depth analysis and interviews with your favorite track and field athletes.

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.). 

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will be also available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows. 
DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures.

“Personally, it's always been the mission… We're willing to be patient. But we're also very keen on what the mission is. It’s not to stop at championships. It's not to stop at fast times. It's not to stop at American Records. It's not to get content. We are here to completely push the boundary every time. I'm very vocal about that...I've posted what my time goals are for the World Championships. I'm here to run 9.65 and I'm here to run 19.10. The crazy thing is it causes so much controversy. Why should my dream or belief cause controversy with you? It has nothing to do with you. If I don't get it, and if I do get it, how does it change your life? So many people want to have an opinion on it. And so many people want to tell me what I can and can't do. But you know what they can’t tell me? What I ran in practice yesterday. And I bet that's the information you need to know if I'm going to actually run it or not.”

Two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles jins the CITIUS MAG Podcast to break down all of the biggest revelations in his new two-part documentary series with NBC Sports. "Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project" premieres on Friday, August 18 exclusively on Peacock. We managed to get an advanced look at the documentary and were able to record this interview before the series debuts.

At the upcoming World Championships in Budapest, Lyles will attempt to defend his 200m world title and has been open about the fact that he is trying to break Usain Bolt’s 200m world record. The documentary follows him in training, at the New York City Grand Prix, the U.S. Championship and Paris Diamond League.

Part II of the documentary series will follow him through the World Championships and will air on Friday, September 15 – one day before the Diamond League Final at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Host: Chris Chavez | @Chris_J_Chavez on Instagram

Co-Host: Katelyn Hutchison | @_kxnaomi on Instagram

Guest: Noah Lyles | @nojo18 on Instagram

Stay up to date on CITIUS MAG’s World Championships coverage: 

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: Our hit show from last year is back! The way we described it was “think of the TODAY Show but for track and field die-hard fans” and it delivered, featuring interviews with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Rai Benjamin, Michael Johnson, Seb Coe, Hellen Obiri, Malcolm Gladwell and many more notable friends. And this time around should be no different – every day of the World Championships, we will be inviting athletes, coaches and fellow media personalities to sit back and chat with Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber.

The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.)

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will be also available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows.

MORNING RUNS: If you’re in Budapest, there will be two chances to catch some miles with the CITIUS MAG team in partnership with ASICS: one on Aug. 21 and another on Aug. 24. We’ll have giveaways, coffee and treats for people who are in town. The runs will start at 8 a.m. from ASICS House at Erzsébet tér, 1051 Budapest.

DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures. You can sign up for the newsletter here.

CITIUS MAG's coverage of the 2023 World Athletics Championships is powered by ASICS.

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber break down all of the sprints races taking place at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest from Aug. 19-27.

Here’s the full broadcast schedule and how to watch. | A full schedule of events in Eastern Time can be found here.

Here are the biggest questions around each respective event:

Women’s 100m: The best event of the world championships?

Men’s 100m: How healthy is Fred Kerley? Could Marcell Jacobs steal it again? Wide open?

Women’s 200m: Shericka Jackson vs. Gabby Thomas will surely be epic

Men’s 200m: How fast will Noah Lyles go? World record?

Men’s 400m: Who has the better comeback story: Steven Gardiner or Wayde Van Niekerk? Or Michael Norman?

Women’s 400m: Now that Sydney is out, is this Marileidy Paulino’s to lose?

Women’s 400m Hurdles: Femke Bol’s golden moment awaits

Men’s 400m Hurdles: Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin Round II

Women’s 100m Hurdles: What will the AIU decide on Tobi Amusan and what’s that mean for everyone else?

Men’s 100m Hurdles: Grant Holloway goes for the threepeat

CITIUS MAG’s Coverage 

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: Our hit show from last year is back! The way we described it was “think of the TODAY Show but for track and field die-hard fans” and it delivered, featuring interviews with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Rai Benjamin, Michael Johnson, Seb Coe, Hellen Obiri, Malcolm Gladwell and many more notable friends. And this time around should be no different – every day of the World Championships, we will be inviting athletes, coaches and fellow media personalities to sit back and chat with Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber.

The show will air on the CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel between the morning and evening sessions of competition (Every day at 8 a.m. EST in the U.S.)

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris, Kyle, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd and Katelyn Hutchison will unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at the new National Athletics Centre and interviewing athletes each day. The podcast recording will be streamed on YouTube at the end of every day and will be also available on The CITIUS MAG Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows.

MORNING RUNS: If you’re in Budapest, there will be two chances to catch some miles with the CITIUS MAG team in partnership with ASICS: one on Aug. 21 and another on Aug. 24. We’ll have giveaways, coffee and treats for people who are in town. The runs will start at 8 a.m. from ASICS House at Erzsébet tér, 1051 Budapest.

DAILY CITIUS MAG NEWSLETTER: David Melly will recap all of the biggest moments, highlighting his must-watch athletes and events for each day while also pulling together some of our best content, photos and social moments that the CITIUS MAG team captures. You can sign up for the newsletter here.

CITIUS MAG's coverage of the 2023 World Athletics Championships is powered by ASICS.

Gordon and Kevin react to Sha'Carri Richardson's 10.57 100m in Miramar, FL. As well as Christian Coleman and Abby Steiner's 200m victories, Aleia Hobbs' 100m and Rai Benjamin's fast quarter in CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"We want to prepare for the World Championships, run fast before the World Championships to get confidence and then try to win the World Championships."

Happy Friday! This is the eighth edition of Track Snacks – a mini-series taking you into the weekend where Chris Chavez and a CITIUS MAG staffer or friend share the story of an athlete who they're excited about right now that you can expect to see compete at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (July 15–24, 2022).

For this episode, we're joined by Brazilian hurdle star Alison Dos Santos after he won the Prefontaine Classic men's 400m hurdle race in a world-leading time of 47.23. Last summer, he was part of one of the greatest races in track and field history – the Olympic 400m hurdle final. Norway's Karsten Warholm made history by becoming the first person to break 46 seconds with his victory (45.95). Rai Benjamin went 46.17 for the second-fastest time in history and the silver medal. Dos Santos rounded out the podium with a 46.72 for the bronze medal.

We chatted more with him about how he got his start in track and field because he was competing on big stages as a teenager including winning a bronze medal at the 2018 World U20 Championships. He’s earned gold medals at the South American Championships and the PanAmerican Games. His first senior global championship came in 2019 when he finished 7th at the World Championships in Doha – just a quarter of a second away from the bronze medal.

I watched Dos Santos during the practice session at Hayward Field. He’s six feet, seven inches tall and puts down tremendous force into the ground. While he’s fierce and focused on the track, if you catch him anywhere off-the-track, he’s always willing to stop and chat, crack some jokes, tell stories and even share a dance.

Track Snacks is presented by Hayward Magic. Everyone knows how much all of us in the CITIUS MAG family love track & field, and how much we enjoy sharing that love with you all. Well, we’ve got a few big love-sharing ideas in the works and it all takes place in Eugene, Oregon this summer. Hayward Field will be the home to the Prefontaine Classic, the USATF Outdoor Championships and the World Athletics Championships. We'll be there and you should be too. Visit https://citiusmag.com/summerofhayward/ for all the information on dates and tickets.

Track Snacks is sponsored by @HaywardMagic, the Instagram home for the true track & field diehards, dreamers and fans. Sharing the magic of the sport and elevating the athletes that push it forward. Follow them on Instagram @HaywardMagic.

Intro music: "Believe In Yourself" by Norm Cotone