Masai Russell had a rookie season of epic proportions. First, she put up a brilliant performance at the Olympic trials, finishing first with a personal best time of 12.25 seconds. This figure is also the fifth fastest in the history of the 100-meter hurdles. Carrying that form to Paris, she won the gold medal in her first-ever Olympics with a time of 12.33 seconds.

Now, in her final race at Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos, she finished third with a time of 12.44 seconds. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn’s 12.36 seconds and Alaysha Johnson’s 12.43 were both better than her time. However, later on, X, she called the race a catch-up for her to end her unforgettable season. All things considered, it was a rookie season many athletes can only dream of.

In an Instagram post, Masai Russell reflected on the season as she called it a dream. Then, she further added that it is only a preview of her hopefully illustrious career. She said, “Rookie season was a dream. God showed me just a preview of what’s to come. See y’all on the track next season.”

Quincy Wilson, who became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in track and field in Paris, showered praise on her. He put up her post in his Instagram story and captioned it with, “The definition of overcoming adversity! Stayed focused and got the job done! super proud of you, big sis!”

After the Olympics, Masai Russell talked about the adversities she had to go through on her way to victory in the Olympics. Talking to the Montgomery magazine, Masai had admitted that she had worked very hard for her Olympics medal. But, at one point, she doubted whether she’d ever be victorious in a competition. The hurdler said, “I have worked so hard my entire career and come up short every single time… I’ve never won an NCAA title … I’ve never won an outdoor SEC title. I didn’t win the USA Championships last year.” Her lack of first place finishes frustrated her a lot. But now she believes that all of this had to happen for her to win Olympic gold.

“It was like, I had to go through all those hardships, and I had to go through all those tough times to get to where I am now. Honestly, it was a dream come true … I just won the Olympics… no one can take that from me.” The hurdler has all right to feel this way, as it is not easy to win the Olympics after not winning any major competition. These are the adversities Quincy Wilson could possibly be referring to. But what is the connection between the two athletes? Why does the 16-year-old refer to the hurdler as ‘big sis’?

The connection between Masai Russell and Quincy Wilson

Quincy Wilson and Masai Russell both went to the same school in Maryland called the Bullis School. While Quincy is yet to graduate, Masai was part of the class of 2018. This is why they share the same coach in Joe Lee, who has been coaching in the school for twelve years.

Both the athletes know each other from there, and this is why Quincy refers to Masai as ‘big sis’. It is an achievement for a school to create one Olympic gold medalist, but having two gold medalists at the same time takes the achievement to monumental levels. Thus, Bullis School and their coach, Joe Lee, must get their flowers.

After the success of both athletes, Joe talked about them in an interview with NBC Washington. He called it a dream come true for a school, which they consider small, based in Potomac, Maryland. “we started our program ten years ago and we just kind of built it and have amazing athletes like Masai and Quincy and so many others,” he said. It’s a proud moment for a coach to see two pupils of his, whom he so closely monitored, reach such great heights. Hopefully, they will reach even greater heights in the future.