Masai Russell OLY[citation needed] (born June 17, 2000) is an American track and field sprinter and hurdler. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 100 m hurdles event. Russell is the U.S. NCAA Record holder in the 100 m hurdles.[2]
 Russell at the 2024 United States Olympic trials | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | June 17, 2000 Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics/Track | ||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100 meters hurdles, 400 meters hurdles, 60 metres hurdles | ||||||||||||||
| College team | Kentucky Wildcats | ||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Lonnie Greene | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 2024 Paris 100 mH,  Gold | ||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Russell holds personal bests of 12.25 seconds over 100 m hurdles which is tied for #5 of all time, 7.75 seconds over 60 metres hurdles, which is #13 of all time and 54.66 seconds over 400 metres hurdles.
Career
editIn 2021, Russell ran her first sub-13s 100 m hurdles in placing second in her heat at the SEC Championships. She went on to place sixth in the final.[3] Later that year, Russell ran 12.93s to make the final of the NCAA Division I Championships, where she finished sixth.
At the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, Russell placed third in the 100 m hurdles and fourth in the 400 m hurdles.[3]
In 2023, Russell broke the collegiate record for the 60 m hurdles, running 7.75s to beat Grace Stark's time of 7.78s set the year before.[4] In April, she ran a collegiate record of 12.36s over 100 m hurdles at the Texas Relays.[5] In June, she placed second in both the 100 m hurdles and 400 m hurdles at the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.[6][7] At the 2023 USA Outdoor Championships, Russell finished third qualifying to represent the United States at the World Championships in Budapest.[8] She made the semi-finals where she didn't finish after hitting a hurdle.[9]
Russell finished fourth in the 60 m hurdles at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.[10] She placed first at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 m hurdles in a personal best time of 12.25 to qualify her for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[11] At the Olympics, Russell won gold with a time of 12.33s, narrowly beating Cyrena Samba-Mayela.[12][13] She ended her 2024 season by finishing third at the inaugural Athlos meet.[14]
Education
editMasai Russell graduated from Bullis School in 2018.[15] She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Health Science in 2023.[1]
Professional
editInternational competition
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Pan American U20 Championships | Trujillo, Peru | 3rd | 400 m hurdles | 57.55 | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 9th (h) | 100 m hurdles | 12.601 | |
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 4th | 60 m hurdles | 7.81 | |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | 100 m hurdles | 12.33 |
1DNF in the semi-finals.
References
edit- ^ a b "Masai Russell - Paris 2024". olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "L'Américaine Masai Russell démarre fort aux Texas Relays" [American Masai Russell starts strong at Texas Relays]. L'Équipe (in French). April 1, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Masai RUSSELL - Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Masai Russell Breaks Collegiate Record in 60-Meter Hurdles". Kentucky Athletics. January 20, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Russell breaks collegiate 100m hurdles record at Texas Relays". World Athletics. April 2, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Women 100 M Hurdles (Final)". flashresults.ncaa.com. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Women 400 M Hurdles (Final)". flashresults.ncaa.org. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Masai Russell Qualifies For World Championships, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Wins 400m National Championship". Kentucky Athletics. July 8, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ Chawla, Harshita (August 24, 2023). "US Collegiate Record Holder in 100m Hurdles Faces Upsetting Fate at World Athletics Championship 2023". Essentially Sports. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (March 3, 2024). "Charlton lowers world 60m hurdles record to 7.65 for global gold in Glasgow". World Athletics. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ Etta, Devin (July 1, 2024). "Potomac's Masai Russell Qualifies for Olympics After Breaking Trials Record". mymcm. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ de Villiers, Ockert (August 10, 2024). "Paris 2024 athletics: USA's Masai Russell wins maiden Olympic 100m hurdles gold medal in photo finish". olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ Turnbull, Simon (October 19, 2024). "Russell's Olympic title win launches legacy in the making". World Athletics. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ Dredge, Mark (September 27, 2024). "ATHLOS 2024: An Incredible Night Of Women's Track Racing in NYC". The Running Channel. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Bullis Alumnus Masai Russell Wins Olympic Gold in Women's 100m Hurdles". www.bullis.org. August 8, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.