"I'm not in a rush" - Masai Russell gets real about her plans for the season about dominating win at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships

Masai Russell revealed that she would skip the World Indoors and focus on the World Outdoors later this year. She also emphasized the importance of not rushing in the initial stages of her professional career.

Masai Russell, who signed with Nike in 2024, became the Olympic champion in the 100m hurdles at the Paris Games. She continued her excellence at the Athlos NYC, clinching the podium behind Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Coming into 2025, Russell unfurled her dominance at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix and Millrose Games, winning the 60m hurdles in both.

At the recently concluded USATF Indoors, she clocked 7.74s in the 60m hurdles to clinch the win in the world's best time of 2025. After that, the University of Kentucky alum revealed that she wouldn't participate in the World Indoor Championships in 2025 to focus on the World Outdoors later this year.

"No running Indoors. Just because it's very close to the outdoor season you know. I'm a professional now and I'm not in a rush to just go back and forth from competition to competition. For me, be it personally, be it mentally, I like to take a break before like setting it up again. I just think it's going to set me up really great for the outdoor season because the season is very long this year. It's the end of September so I want to make sure that I'm ready to run, my mindset is there and you know my toughest goal going into World Outdoors is to know we're on indoors," she said. (via CITIUS Mag)

---

Masai Russell on why she would keep the flowers from her first professional win at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

Masai Russell looks on at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 16 - (Source: Getty)

Russell competed in the 60m hurdles at the 2024 World Indoor Championships but faded to fourth behind a formidable field. In 2025, after competing at the Tech Corky Classic, she graced the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix line-up and dominantly won the race.

In an interview later, she expressed joy in her first win after turning professional with Nike. She also said that she would keep the flowers to preserve the memory.

"I felt good, I mean it's funny to say this is my first pro win. I'm an Olympic champion but I never won a race as a professional last year. So this is my first one and I'm gonna keep these flowers. It's just been great," the 24-year-old said.

Masai Russell recently participated in the NBA All-Star Game alongside fellow Olympian Shelby Mcewen. They participated in the Olympian's skills challenge, where the former succumbed to McEwen despite showing her prowess with hurdles and 3-point shots as obstacles.