"Don't ever play with me"-Masai Russell oozes confidence following maiden gold medal victory at Paris Olympics 2024

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Aug 12, 2024 15:55 GMT

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American hurdler Masai Russell exuded confidence following her gold-medal triumph at the Paris Olympics 2024. Having qualified in her first Olympic Games, Russell clinched the gold in the women’s 100m hurdles at the quadrennial games.

At the Paris Olympics, Russell emerged as the winner in a highly competitive 100m hurdles final where she clocked a sensational time of 12.33s, coming ahead of France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela (12.34s) and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.36s), who took home the silver and bronze medals respectively.

After her sensational run at the Olympic Games, the 24-year-old American hurdler took to her X, expressing confidence in her victory, adding:

“Don’t ever play with me”

She shared another tweet, originally shared by X handle (Track and Field Gazette) where they had uploaded photos of Russell standing on the podium with the gold medal. She captioned the post:

“Definition of belief in YOURSELF 💙”

Masai Russell had a brilliant Olympic Games campaign. In addition to an impressive finals show, the NCAA record holder ran a blistering 12.42s to place second in the semi-final 3, only behind Camacho-Quinn. In the heats, the USA athlete clocked a time of 12.53s to top heat 3.

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Masai Russell’s Road to Paris Olympics 2024

Mariam Abdul-Rashid of Canada, Masai Russell of the United States and Charisma Taylor of Bahamas in the womens 60m Hurdles Round 1 during day three of the World Athletics Indoor Championships at Emirates Arena on March 3, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo via Getty)

Masai Russell participated at the 2024 U.S. Track and Field Trials to secure herself a spot in the USA’s Olympic team for the Paris Olympics. She first won heat 1, clocking 12.35s, to qualify for the semifinals of the women’s 100m hurdles.

Following a performance in the heats, she advanced to the finals by dominating her semifinals with a 12.36s. In the finals, Russell achieved a personal best of 12.25s, which placed her fourth on the all-time best performers list tying her with Bulgaria’s Ginka Zagorcheva’s performance in 1987.

With this, she not only won the trials but also earned her position in the USA team by finishing in the top three in the event.

Another notable performance by Russell this season was a narrow fourth-place finish in the 60m hurdles finals of the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships held in Glasgow despite clocking 7.81s. She also signed a sponsorship deal with Nike, the American athletic footwear and apparel corporation, this year.