As a teenager, Benn was a leading discus thrower and made gradual improvement during his early twenties. During these years he first travelled from Newcastle to Sydney for coaching (with Rudolf Sopko), then relocated to Brisbane to train under Steve Lemke.
In 2004, Benn moved to Melbourne and joined coach Gus Puopolo. The move paid almost immediate dividends as Benn’s best improved by six metres in the space of a calendar year. May 2005 welcomed a major breakthrough on a tour of the USA where he threw 63.65m and climbed to number four on the Australian All-Time list.
He finished second at the 2006 Australian Championships with a throw of 60.12m and second, too, at the Victorian Championships. Commonwealth Games representation followed, Benn’s first senior International championships, where he finished eighth.
The big man captured his first National discus title during the 2006-07 domestic season and a number of 60m-plus throws in Hobart, Sydney and Adelaide. Benn then embarked on a solid European campaign of more than three months, highlighted by a win at the Stavanger Games in Norway and another victory in Sweden.
2008 has been a bumper period for big Benn. He won the Australian title, which combined with several solid performances saw him nominated to the AOC for selection to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing. Benn then travelled to the West Coast of the USA for a period of competition. It was worth getting on the plane, as he broke the Australian record twice in 3 weeks.