"Had the worst season of my life and I'm now a freaking Olympian"- Masai Russell shares an inspirational story behind her Paris Olympics qualification

American hurdler Masai Russell recently shared the range of emotions she experienced before making the United States squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Russell booked her spot in the 110m hurdles team for the quadrennial Games at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.

At the trials, Russell emerged as the winner in a highly competitive women’s hurdles final which saw six athletes going below the 12.40s mark. Russell claimed a dominant victory, clocking a 12.25s at the trials.

It was a double delight for the NCAA record holder, as she not only secured her spot for the Paris Olympics but also broke the 24-year-old U.S. Trials record of 12.33 seconds, previously set by Gail Devers.

After qualifying for her first Olympic Games, Russell took to her X (formerly Twitter) to share her inspirational story with her fans and followers, stating:

“Had the WORST season of my life & im now a freaking Olympian 😭 I was fighting for my life to run 12.6 a couple weeks ago, yesterday I broke a 24 year old Olympic Trials record ✨ man God is awesome”

In the finals of the trials, Masai Russell showed her prowess by defeating the likes of many Olympic and World Championships medalists in the final such as Keni Harrison and Nia Ali. She had earlier displayed her brilliance in the semifinals and heats of the trials, clocking 12.36s and 12.35s, respectively.

A look into Masai Russell’s rollercoaster 2024 season

Devynne Charlton, Cyrena Samba-Mayela, and Masai Russell at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Masai Russell opened her 2024 season by participating in the 60m and 60m hurdles at the UK Rod McCravy Memorial, finishing 2nd in the latter event with a 7.89s. At the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, she narrowly missed out on a medal with a fourth-place finish, clocking 7.81s.

However, she had a mediocre outdoor season campaign in the 100m hurdles before making her appearance at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. She featured in three Diamond League legs in Xiamen, Shanghai/ Suzhou, and Prefontaine Classic, where she came sixth, fourth, and ninth respectively. Among all the events she competed in, her best run was at the HBCU Pro Classic in which she recorded a wind-legal 12.63s.

She, however, made a great comeback at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials and will be eyeing her first Olympic medal at her maiden Olympic Games in Paris. With her trials performance, Masai Russell is also now the world leader in the distance.