The 24-year-old doesn’t lack for ambition, and she delivered on the final day of track at Stade de France by winning gold in the 100-meter hurdles.
Masai Russell is all smiles after achieving another of her ambitious goals. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
SAINT-DENIS, France — Masai Russell slept just a few hours Friday night into Saturday, kept awake by the same dream. In the dream, she saw her name flash on the Stade de France scoreboard atop one of the deepest, strongest fields of 100-meter hurdlers ever assembled. She was 24 and at her first Olympics, but since she first started running on Prince George’s County tracks, Russell never has dreamed small.
Russell spent a little more than 12 seconds sprinting and hurdling, then had to wait to see whether her vision would become real. A few steps past the finish line, Russell stared up at the list of names. The word “PHOTO” was next to five. She waited, cupped her fingers and mouthed: “Give it to me. Give it to me.”
The board went blank, and suddenly it came true: Russell’s name appeared first. She had won the gold medal on track’s final day at the Paris Olympics by 0.01 seconds. Her time of 12.33 edged Frenchwoman Cyréna Samba-Mayela, who sobbed after she earned the meet’s first track and field medal for France and the country’s earsplitting fans. Reigning Puerto Rican gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, another piece of the photo finish, crossed in 12.36.
“I wanted to come out here and put my name on history,” Russell said. “I always knew that I had the talent and capability of being one of the best hurdlers ever. And I’m coming for the world record, respectfully.”
Russell achieved the all-time flex of winning an Olympic gold medal wearing Louis Vuitton earrings. Her fashion flourishes also included long eyelashes, distinctive braids down to her waist, multiple nose piercings, U.S. flag fingernail extensions and a gem affixed to her tooth.
“Just a little bit of spice,” Russell said. “Not too, too much.”
Russell started dreaming on the tracks of Prince George’s County. She grew up in Upper Marlboro and ran as part of Fast Track Club on the Largo High track. Her first coach was her father, Mark, who sat in the Stade de France stands Saturday night, surrounded by loved ones who wore “Team Masai” T-shirts.
Mark had zero track background, but he liked to throw himself into research. He bought Russell resistance bands and studied training programs. When Russell was 10, she entered a national track meet in California.
“I ended up getting third with my dad being my coach and him not even really knowing what he was doing,” Russell said. “It was nothing too crazy. He was just, like, being a good dad.”
Russell takes in all of Stade de France after her victory. (Ashley Landis/AP)
Russell’s prodigious youth career helped her elevate the track team at the Bullis School. She dominated in college at Kentucky, the same alma mater as Camacho-Quinn, 400-meter hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and men’s 110-meter hurdles silver medalist Daniel Roberts. “We’re honestly Hurdle U,” Camacho-Quinn said.
At the beginning of this track season, Russell wrote down her goals: Break the indoor world record, become the indoor world champion, win the U.S. Olympic trials, win the Olympics and break the world record. Only the biggest dreams.
“She’s dominant,” American finalist and NCAA champion Grace Stark said.
Russell lost a podium spot at the line to end the indoor season, but her main season went according to plan. Russell won the U.S. trials in 12.25 seconds, making her the fourth-fastest woman ever. She bought herself a Mercedes to celebrate.
Despite her world-leading time, Russell did not enter the Olympics as the favorite. There wasn’t one. The field had grown so dense with possible winners that world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria did not escape the semifinal heats.
“Once all of us get on the line, you could pretty much close your eyes and choose a winner,” U.S. hurdler Alaysha Johnson said Wednesday after winning her first-round heat.
Before the final, Russell told herself: “I’m not going regret the things I didn’t do in this race. I’m going to make it happen.” She is a bubbly personality, but when she emerged from the tunnel on to the track, she wore a scowl.
“At that point, nothing’s funny,” Russell said. “It’s do or die.”
In Lane 5, with Americans to her left and right, Russell burst from the blocks. The hurdlers moved through the race in a line. Russell was in the middle of a tightly packed bunch over the fifth hurdle. She knew then she could win.
“I know a lot of people can’t compete with me on the back end,” Russell said.
Samba-Mayela landed first over the final hurdle, Russell a blink behind. She practices the mad-dash final sprint endlessly. She could not sense where she stood, but she knew the race would come down to a dive and a lean. Samba-Mayela could hear the crowd chanting her name and “Allez les Bleus!”
Russell, France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela and Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn lean for the finish line. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)
Russell drew even with Samba-Mayela. The naked eye could not differentiate between the two and maybe even Camacho-Quinn. Russell looked up at the board. When her dream came true, she took off at a dead sprint.
The next name was Samba-Mayela’s. French fans had filled Stade de France for nine days, morning and night, making pre-noon high jump qualifiers sound like the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. They had not cheered for a home medalist. Once she saw her name flash second, Samba-Mayela collapsed and bawled.
“It was a duty for me, a duty of long years,” Samba-Mayela said. “A lot of suffering. A lot of pleasure. But it was so hard. Some of the most stressful days of my life, but actually it has been a lot of pleasure because of this crowd. They are lovers of sport. They shared that pleasure with me. All that joy, it lifted me.”
In the evening came the second part of Russell’s dream. She cried when she stepped onto the top of the medal podium, then held back tears as a gold medal hung around her neck while the national anthem blared.
Russell still wants to break the world record, currently 0.13 seconds off her best. That could wait. Mark Russell, her old coach, the dad who helped make her dreams come true, sat in the stands and watched his daughter try not to cry.
“It always seems like it’s not possible,” Russell said. “Until it is.”
Russell was emotional on the medal podium. (Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images)
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