"Okay with taking the hits and not winning earlier" - Masai Russell opens up on her priorities over early-season race victories

American 100m hurdler Masai Russell shared her viewpoints regarding the early meets of the season. This comes just a few months before the start of her 2025 season at the Millrose Games scheduled to be held on February 8 in New York.

This will be Russell's first professional track meet since Athlos NYC in September. She will compete in the 60m hurdles event. However, in a recent conversation, Russell revealed that her target for the event will be quite different as she looks to focus on the bigger events going into the season.

In an interview with The Citius Mag, Russell claimed that her emphasis in the initial months of the season is to rectify the technical mistakes and be in full flow before the Championships cycle.

She said (via The Citius Mag podcast at 12:18):

"I think I am a very secure person in my abilities. So although it may not look flawless in April, like best believe when we get to USA, it's going to be perfected. So, I'm okay with taking the hits and maybe not winning earlier in the season to work on those smaller things to make sure that they are fixed going into the Championship cycle."

Russell's schedule will be stacked up in 2025 as July approaches as the US Championships will start on July 31. This will be followed by the World Championships in Tokyo, which will start from September 13.

Masai Russell had a disappointing end to her campaign last time around at the World Athletics Championships in 2023. She couldn't finish her race after hitting a hurdle in the semifinals after finishing second in her heats (run-time of 12.60s).

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Masai Russell explains the reason for her absence from the 2024 Millrose Games

Masai Russell after winning the 100m hurdles finals event in June during the US Olympics Track and Field team trials (Image via: Getty Images)

Masai Russell also slated the reasons for her absence from the 2024 Millrose Games. She said that the event was just a week before the USA Indoor Championships, which prompted her to not take many risks and travel a lot.

Notably, Russell performed impressively during the Championships and clinched third place in the 100m hurdles event.

She said (via Citius Mag Podcast at 8:08):

"Last year I wasn't able to be a part of Millrose Games because it was my first year on the professional circuit. It was the week before USAs, so I didn't want to do too much traveling."

During the interview, Russell also mentioned that she has a special place in her heart for the meet and is looking forward to competing at the Armory Track facility.