An American runner was in disbelief when he broke a world record and still finished 2nd in the 400-meter hurdles

• Team USA's Rai Benjamin broke the world record in the 400-meter hurdles but finished second.
• Norway's Karten Warholm ran even faster, beating the world record by 0.76 seconds to win the gold.
• "If you would have told me I would run 46.1 and lose, I would probably beat you up," Benjamin said.

American sprinter Rai Benjamin set a new world record in the men's 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics and still finished second.

It was a tough pill to swallow for Benjamin, who beat the world record by 0.6 seconds, only to have Norway's Karsten Warholm beat the world record by 0.76 seconds.

"If you would have told me I would run 46.1 [seconds] and lose, I would probably beat you up. I'd tell you to get out of my room," Benjamin said after the race.

Benjamin compared it to Usain Bolt running the 100-meter in 9.58 seconds, saying, "This was probably the best race in Olympic history."

"A lot of the time, I am asked about the perfect race … I said it didn't exist, but this is the closest I've ever come."

According to The Wall Street Journal's Joshua Robinson, the conditions in Tokyo are ripe for world records. Warholm and Benjamin are both wearing Nike track spikes dubbed "super spikes" for their energy-returning foam that can give runners more lift. And the track itself in Tokyo is said to be soft and bouncy, too.

"It is really soft - it does have a lot of give," Benjamin said of the track, according to Robinson, before noting that he can run fast on any surface.

Warholm and Benjamin have something of a friendly but budding rivalry. The two runners placed first and second, respectively, at the 2019 world championships and owned 13 of the 20 fastest times in the event entering Tuesday, according to USA Today's Tom Schad.

"No one in history is going to go out there and do what we just did, just now," Benjamin said afterward.