"In the process"- Masai Russell opens up on answering her mother's questions after winning Olympic gold as a 'rookie'

By Agnijeeta Majumder

Modified Nov 20, 2024 01:48 GMT

Masai Russell opened up about winning Olympic gold as a rookie in 2024, promising to continue achieving the top spot in the coming years when her mother asked her about building a legacy. She explained that pushing herself to the goals she sets lets her unleash her full potential on the track.

Russell, the US NCAA record holder in the 100m, made waves as a Kentucky Wildcats athlete. In 2023, she lowered Grace Stark's 60m hurdles collegiate record and earned second place in the 100m and 400m hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Division I Championships. She continued her momentum to the USA Outdoor Championships track, finishing third and securing a spot in the World Championships.

Though she didn't make it to the final of the tournament, Masai Russell saved her best for her Olympic debut in Paris. She won the 100m hurdles gold after clockig 12.33s in the final and concluded her track season at the Athlos NYC.

On November 19, 2024, Athlos shared a conversation with Russell, who discussed building her legacy by winning Olympic titles year after year. The 24-year-old also noted how setting goals and working towards attaining them defines her. When asked the reason behind running, Russell said:

"I think my why is taking it how far Masai can take it. Set these goals and you put them out there and when you just attain them, you show yourself what you're capable of. It's just a challenge every day. My mom has always told me, 'What will be your legacy?' I think I'm in the process of building that. Winning an Olympic gold as a rookie. I just want to continue to make that happen in and year out and do it with a smile on my face and bringing people along while I'm doing it."

Masai Russell recorded her personal best timing of 12.25s in the 100m hurdles at the US Olympic trials this year.

Masai Russell played the Olympic gold-winning moment in her head before achieving it in Paris

Masai Russell at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: (Source: Getty)

A year after ending her career with the University of Kentucky, Russell made her way through to the Paris Olympics finals finals, sharing the starting line with Tokyo 2020 champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. As the Baltimore native touched the finish line and realized her podium finish, she couldn't believe that her thoughts from the previous night turned into reality.

"I couldn’t sleep last night because I kept tossing and turning, hearing my name coming up as No. 1. When it actually came up, I was like, ‘Stop playing with me!’ she said to Olympics.com.

She added:

"I’m the fourth-fastest woman ever in this event. It wasn’t about knowing if I could or couldn’t, it was really about keeping the focus on what I could do and honestly just get through those 10 hurdles and get to the line first.”

Besides excelling in the track domain, the 25-year-old also earned a graduate degree in Health Science in 2023.