Masai Russell weighs in on the possibility of competing the 100m and the 100m hurdles after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics

Masai Russell weighed in on her chances of competing in the 100m and 100m hurdles after her gold-winning feat at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Russell made it to the top in her maiden Olympic edition, which saw the Tokyo Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn finish third.

The Baltimore-area native ran the 100m hurdles in a personal best time of 12.25s at the Olympic Trials and secured a seat on the Paris Olympic roster. The 24-year-old defeated a contentious line-up of hurdlers and took her maiden Olympic gold in 12.33s.

Shortly after, when asked about her chances in the 100m and 100m hurdles, she confirmed that she would run in both the next year, as posted in her Instagram story.

The question read:

"are you think you will do the 100m and 100mh?"

In response, Masai Russell said:

"Yeah next year I will"

Masai Russell story; Instagram - @masairussell

In March 2023, Russell competed in the 100m hurdles at the Texas Relays in Austin, clocking 12.36s and breaking the collegiate 100m hurdles record. Following her success, the Kentucky Wildcats alum became one of the first athletes to sign a name, image, and likeliness deal.

Russell also finished third in 100m hurdles at the 2023 US Track and Field Championships. earning a qualification for the 2023 Worlds. However, she faced a setback in the race, hitting the second hurdle and ending her World Championships bid.

Having started running at eight, the whole concept of sports excites Masai Russell. Once the results show up, she gets the motivation to race and win more.

"I've been running track since I was eight years old. It’s an addictive type of sport. You see numbers (times), you see good results and you just keep pushing for more. It's a process. I still have that competitive drive [and] until the drive goes away, then I'll quit," she said. (via Olympics.com)

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Masai Russell won the 100m hurdles gold by one-hundredth of a second

The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Source: Getty

Russell faced World and Olympic champions in the 100m hurdles at Stade de France. She started strong and touched the finish in a photo finish, clocking 12.33s. The hurdler was just 0.01s ahead of the second finisher, Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist in the 100m hurdles, finished third in 12.36s. After the Olympic debutante clinched her first gold, she called it a 'dream come true' moment. Her success catapulted her to the fourth-fastest position in history.

"I don’t want to say that I was in shock, but it’s literally a dream come true, I’m the fourth-fastest woman ever in this event," she said. (via Olympics.com)

She competed at the Silesia Diamond League fresh off her Games win but finished an unfortunate fourth in a time of 12.40s.