Masai Russell has become a household name since the Paris Olympics. Her US Olympic trials itself is a moment that is forever etched in the collective memory. At the trials, she went on to clock 12.25 and earned her way to Paris. And when it was go time at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Masai did not disappoint! She went on to clock 12.33 and win gold! This should come as no surprise, considering she has been winning for a long time now.

Masai began her journey in track at Bullis School in Maryland. It didn’t take her much time to gain everybody’s attention! Masai even went on to win the 2018 Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year! Winning was habitual to Masai, but here’s the thing. It unfortunately came with a price. These wins brought as much negativity as it did praise, and it all came from those around her!

Masai’s rise brought winds of jealousy early on!

Turns out, Masai Russell’s way to an Olympic gold was not always filled with cheers! Especially not during high school, where she had won eight national titles. About five years ago, Masai posted a YouTube video titled, “Why My Track Team Didn’t Like Me!!!”. In the video, she went on to talk about how things in her social and personal life started to go down as she started to gain speed as well as attention. “People was hating because I was wearing my USA gear,” she said in the video. And boy-oh-boy, was it brutal!

There were often instances where, as Masai, herself, puts it, “everyone started off cool,” but then it soon changed. Her team started making plans in front of her, leaving her out on purpose. The video caught a lot of attention and, at the same time, received a lot of hate. Recently, Masai, after her Paris win, was on the sets of Sport Xposure Podcast and went on to talk about this awful period, even going on to say “it was crazy”!

A lot of her then viewers wanted the video gone. Masai went on to say, “‘Oh, don’t talk about that. Why are you… Like, so many people told me to delete that video; like, of course, that was from my high school.” On the other hand, it was all praise, with many saying, “I needed this; thank you so much for sharing this.” While the noises around her confused her with conflicting ideas, she stuck to only one!

As Masai herself puts it, “I’m going to speak my truth.” And that’s exactly what she did. For her, sharing these difficult moments was about breaking the silence and helping others feel less alone. And while some wanted her to “take the bigger road,” she had other plans. “If I can help the next person, that’s what I’m going to do,” she added. However, Masai Russell graduated in 2018. And then came her time to truly shine!

Kentucky to the rescue of Masai Russell!

Soon after Bullis, Masai arrived at the gates of the University of Kentucky, where she felt like she could finally breathe. In her own words, “It was like, honestly, a breath of fresh air.” She found something she did not have before. Support and freedom! Masai, for the first time, felt like she was in a place of no judgment. “I was able to show my accomplishments; I was able to show my medals,” she added. And there’s no doubt that the world took notice of her time in Kentucky. It was, after all, monumental!

Masai went on to set the collegiate record for the 60m hurdles, clocking 7.75 seconds. Then she did a 12.36-second run at the Texas Relays, breaking another collegiate record. If that wasn’t enough, she went on to win silver in both 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the 2023 NCAA Championships. The very same year, she went on to run at the World Championships in Budapest. So how did all that happen?

Well, as Masai sees it, “I was able to walk back into the tent and be celebrated, and I feel like I didn’t have to dim my light. So, I really appreciate Kentucky for that.” All hail Kentucky; for now, she is an Olympic gold medalist. And there’s no doubt that Masai Russell will write a long legacy in the years to come!