Rai Benjamin Says Track and Field Athletes Require an ‘Unhealthy Amount of Self-Confidence and a Sense of Narcissism’


Rai Benjamin Says Track and Field Athletes Require an ‘Unhealthy Amount of Self-Confidence and a Sense of Narcissism’

Published on January 18, 2025 09:00PM EST Three-time Olympic gold medal hurdler Rai Benjamin isn’t tripping over his thoughts when it comes to track athletes’ confidence levels. Benjamin, 27, emphasized on the Jan. 16 podcast episode of Beyond the Records — which he co-hosts with fellow gold medalists Noah Lyles and Grant Holloway, both 27 — that high-performing track and field competitors tend to have overly confident mentalities. “I always tell people in track and field you have to have an unhealthy amount of self-confidence and sense of narcissism in order to be good,” Benjamin said. “You have to be that way, and if you don’t have those tendencies, you’re not really going to be successful.” The episode’s guest, Dude Perfect co-founder Coby Cotton, chimed in saying, “It’s one thing to feel it — it’s another thing to back it up.”