The two 200m runners had a go at their fellow sprinter after he made the bizarre request ahead of the 2025 World Championships.
Olympics 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin has come under attack from fellow sprinters Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek after he made a bold claim about challenging them.
In a bizarre request, Benjamin asked his nearly 30,000 followers on X to give him just 200 retweets and he would take up the 200m and 400m races at the 2025 World Championships.
Benjamin claimed he was so sure of beating Lyles in the 200m, fellow sprinter Vernon Wood in the 400m, while he would complete his hat-trick of rare wins by flooring Olympics 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway.
The former sprinters have doubled down on their criticism of the Miami Dolphins wide receiver who has been trash talking Olympics champion Noah Lyles.
“200 retweets and I’ll do the 200/400 double at worlds…. I’ll beat Noah and Vernon…Grant also gotta see me in the 110 too.. I’ll take the stripes off his lil vest,” he claimed in the post that has since received over 740 retweets.
However, his take was received in humorous fashion by Lyles, one of his close friends in the sprinting circles, the three-time world 200m champion feeling he could be smoking something strong.
“Here you go bro. Don’t want you to get addicted to the smoke,” Lyles fired back, accompanying the post with a product that helps addicts who are looking to quit smoking.
But Benjamin responded in classic fashion with video that suggested Lyles was ducking the challenge.
“When the opps [opposition] trying to run away from you,” was the message in the clip posted by Benjamin in his response to Lyles.
However, Kenny Bednarek, the two-time Olympics 200m silver medalist, was blunt in his response.
“Delulu,” he posted with an emoji suggesting Benjamin did not know what he was doing.
It was a hilarious take from the sprinter, who co-hosts the Beyond the Records podcast with Lyles and Holloway, with the three looking to win titles at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo in September.
Benjamin will be looking for his first individual world title in 400m hurdles after winning two silver and a bronze medal in the last three World Championships and will likely not have time for challenges such as the one he just suggested.
