Switch of nations finalized, Benjamin eager for nationals

Rai Benjamin: Antiguan cricket player. Just like dad. Sure, the thought perhaps held a certain charm early on.

But Rai Benjamin: American sprinter. He’s carving his own path. Just like his dad encouraged. Now that turned out to be more his speed.

Benjamin swapped sports as a kid, nations later on — he used to run for Antigua — and is taking the track at the U.S. championships in the 400-meter hurdles. He’s hoping to earn a spot and wear the red, white and blue at worlds this fall in Doha.

“This means a lot,” said Benjamin, who will run a first-round heat Thursday night at Drake Stadium.

His father, Winston, is well known in the Caribbean as a former cricket player for West Indies.

Rai, who turns 22 on Saturday, is steadily making his own identity and building toward the Tokyo Olympics that are now just a year away. He’s run the 400 hurdles in under 47.50 seconds several times in his burgeoning career.

Then again, his dad had a feeling he was capable of something like this. He knew when Rai was just a youngster and teared up after losing a close race.

“I saw that passion and I said to myself, ‘This kid is going to go places,’” Winston said in a phone interview from Antigua. “His passion really got my attention.”

For that sort of passion, Rai — whose switch of nations became official in October — credited his father. Winston was a bowler (almost like a pitcher in baseball) for West Indies starting in the mid-1980s. He still coaches the sport.

“We’d go places and everyone is calling his name,” said Rai, who tried cricket along with soccer and football before catching the bug for track.

Growing up, Rai split his time between the U.S. (he was born in New York) and Antigua. He went to high school in Mount Vernon, New York, where he became a state champion in the 400 hurdles. His mom, Jeanette Mason, played an integral role in his development, keeping him focused and grounded.

At first, Rai decided to represent Antigua on the international stage. His mom and dad both have strong roots there.

Rai described the switch of countries in an essay titled “Identity” on Spikes, a website in conjunction with the International Association of Athletics Federations.

“I have one personality, but it’s a mixture of both. I enjoy certain Antiguan stuff and certain American stuff — it’s always been an even balance,” Rai wrote.