Amid protest due to flinching, Masai Russell issues a strong message after third-place finish in season finisher at Athlos NYC-"We only going up"

Masai Russell issued a strong message after voicing the need to protest against flinching in the 100m hurdles start line at Athlos NYC. The reigning 100m hurdles Olympic champion finished third in 12.44s but complained about getting affected and playing 'catchup' the entire race.

After winning her first 100m hurdles gold at the Olympics, Russell competed at the Alexis Ohanian-organized Athlos, a women-only track event that launched on September 26, 2024.

Russell trailed the entire race and could only finish third in 12.44s behind Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Alaysha Johnson. Immediately after, her agent went to talk to the meet director and Rusell felt the need to address the flinching at the starting line. She also claimed that whoever ran the race legally was deserving of the prize money.

"I want to protest because as anyone can see, there was a lot of flinching going on at the starting line, so that kind of affected me. I was playing catchup the whole entire race. So you know, it is a big prize money on the line and I think the person who ran the legal race should get the prize money they deserve," she said.

In her recent X post, Masai Russell said that her journey is going upwards from now on. She expressed excitement for her upcoming season.

"We only going up. Excited for what’s to come"

Russell has recently joined the Michael Johnson-organized Grand Slam Track league roster, ready to run from April to September of 2025.

Masai Russell - "I guess you can call me a rookie and a vet"

Masai Russell celebrates her gold medal win at the Paris Olympics 2024 - Source: Getty

Masai Russell recorded her personal best time of 12.25s in the 100m hurdles at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, advancing to the finals in Paris. The 24-year-old touched the finish line in 12.33s and emerged as the Olympic champion ahead of Cyrena Samba-Mayela (12.32s) and reigning Tokyo Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.36s).

Since she received comments like 'rookie' going into her first Olympic edition, Russell clapped back at trolls after her performance at Athlos. Capping off a season she called 'unforgettable' she took to her X to write:

"12.44 in a “catch up” race to end an unforgettable season… I guess you can call me a rookie and a vet"

Besides the Olympic accolade, Russell also holds the US NCAA record in the 100m hurdles, and her personal best of 12.25s tied her for fifth in the all-time list.