"If it was a fair race, I would have been more happy" - Masai Russell gives verdict on controversial 100m hurdles race at Alexis Ohanian's Athlos

Masai Russell is an eminent track and field athlete who won a gold medal at the Olympics in Paris last year due to her impressive performance in the 100m hurdle event. She has recently shared her thoughts over the controversial Athlos 100-meter hurdle race event.

The holder of two collegiate records in both 60m hurdle and 100m hurdle events recently appeared in a segment of “Grand Slam Track” with Tiara Williams. She shared that she was “frustrated” with the decision at the women’s Athlos 100m hurdle event.

“I mean for me, honestly when it came to Athlos it was a high class, world class meet. There's movement going on at the start. That race should have been caught back. Of course, I was very frustrated after I competed because I mean if you watch the overhead view, if you watch any view. It was very evident that there was a lot of movement going on at the start. I wasn't really mad about my performance because I still did what I needed to do. But I just know if it was a fair race, I would have been more happy with whatever the outcome,” she said [1:55 onwards].

The 2023 semi-finalist of the Bowerman Award further reflected that whatever position she attained, she would have been “happy” as long as the race had a “fair start”. Masai Russell additionally mentioned that she wanted the race to be equitable and the faulty start, which highlighted a “lot of movement,” should have been taken into perspective.

The athlete won the bronze medal in Pan American U20 Championships in the 400m hurdles. During the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, United Kingdom, she secured fourth place in the 60m hurdle event.

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Masai Russell reflects on maintaining balance in her prolific career

Masai Russell at the Buffalo Bills v Baltimore Ravens - Source: Getty

The Olympian athlete successfully runs her YouTube channel and is also an entrepreneur, vlogger, and social media influencer. Regarding her handling of different aspects of her life, Russell shared her thoughts on the “What’s Next Podcast.”.

“Ever since I started doing NIL and doing brand deals and content creation and everything like that. That's a job within itself and I was like, ‘I don't want to do too much on the social media side because I want to focus on track’. It's just about a balance, because when you're making money it's gonna be hard work regardless and like I said I have NIL because of track," she mentioned.

Masai Russell, while expressing her viewpoints on handling different paths of career, also shared that she cannot sideline any of them as they are developing “in the process”. The track star emphasized nurturing a balance between different strands of her rising and prominent career.