"Just not put too much pressure on myself" - Olympic champion Masai Russell opens up after finishing 4th at the Silesia Diamond League

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 26, 2024 02:53 GMT

The 100m hurdles event at Silesia Diamond League 2024 didn't go as planned for the 2024 Olympic champion Masai Russell. In a closely contested race, the American hurdler finished fourth.

However, Russell is far from disappointed. She doesn't want to 'put too much pressure' on herself and would rather focus on the upcoming events.

In an interview after the race, Masai Russell said (via FloTrack on X):

"I think I just want to just not put too much pressure on myself, and just have fun with it. I appreciate the new fans, I won't make them not happy, and yeah, I just want to just keep having fun coz that's when like the fast times come."

Silesia Diamond League was Masai Russell's first event since the Paris Olympics, where she won the gold medal in the 100m hurdles. At the Silesia Diamond League, Masai Russell clocked 12.40 seconds to finish fourth overall.

Jamaican hurdler Ackera Nugent, who couldn't finish her final race in Paris in the 100m hurdles, stood first with a new meet record of 12.29 seconds. Grace Stark of the USA, who had finished fifth overall in the 100m hurdles finals at the Olympics, stood second with a timing of 12.37 seconds. On the other hand, Danielle Williams of Jamaica stood third with a timing of 12.38 seconds.

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Masai Russell's performance at the Paris Olympics

Russell with the American flag after winning the women's 100m hurdles event at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Masai Russell of the USA had entered the Paris Olympics as one of the dark horses for the women's 100m hurdles event. Her personal best before the main event was 12.25 seconds, which was the world-leading time and a notch better than the previous Olympic record of 12.26 seconds, set by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that clinched her the gold medal.

Russell qualified for the semifinals with a timing of 12.53 seconds. However, in the semifinals, Camacho-Quinn got the better of her, as she clocked 12.35 seconds to top the heats. Russell managed a decent 12.42 seconds to finish second and qualify for the finals.

In the finals, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn was leading. However, Russell wasn't far behind and gave her tough competition. She attempted to surge ahead as the finish line came closer, leading to a photo finish.

In a tightly contested race, Russell won the 100m hurdles race by a hundredth of a second, finishing ahead of Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France. While Russell clocked 12.33 seconds, the French hurdler clocked 12.34 seconds. Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn managed the bronze medal with a timing of 12.36 seconds.