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Russell endeared herself into the hearts of many by clinching gold in 100m hurdles at the Paris Olympic Games on her debut.
There was scant information regarding Masai Russell until she silenced critics by bagging gold in 100m hurdles at the Paris Olympic Games.
Her rise to prominence at the quadrennial championship took many by surprise, not least her chest-thumping fans. Russell, 24, was awarded the Breakthrough Performer award USATF Wing Awards, presented by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission on December 8.
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19:04 - 08.12.2024
'Big goals coming' - Masai Russell hints at professional debut at Millrose Games as preps for 2025 gather pace
Russell defied the odds to win 100m hurdles at Paris Olympics and has acknowledged the need to improve her time in 2025 with her busy schedule set to start in February,
Russell's award alongside Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (most dominant American track and field athlete of the Paris Games) and Quincy Hall (Most Inspirational Performance honor) captured the attention of her adoring fans, most of whom thought she had overachieved in 2024.
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14:45 - 01.12.2024
‘Looking forward to better things’ – Jamaican teenager aiming for more glory after breaking Usain Bolt’s 22-year world record
The teenager has set the world a blaze and is tipped to follow in the footsteps of his idol in becoming a global icon
"She proved me wrong. I didn't have her making the team or the Olympics final," one fan commented after Russell posted the victory on the X platform. As if this was not enough, another fan popped up: "Her face is in the dictionary, next to the world legend."
In an event that is typically the hardest in which to make Team USATF, Russell rose to the top of the women's 100m hurdles world with a 12.33 at Paris to take Olympic gold by .01 seconds.
Russell was fourth in the 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships in early March and had a rocky start to her outdoor campaign that included a ninth-place finish in the 100m hurdles at the Prefontaine Classic.
With everything on the line, she blazed to a world-leading and lifetime best 12.25 to win the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field and then raced to gold in Paris. Her Trials performance made her the No. 2 all-time U.S. performer and was the fourth fastest time ever by an American.
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