What a wild ride for Masai Russell! She went from struggling for medals to snagging Olympic gold—what a comeback! At the Stade de France in Paris last month, she hit the second hurdle and hung around in fifth place by the sixth hurdle. But she didn’t let that stop her! She tapped into her inner superhero after the tenth hurdle, kicking it into overdrive, as if reaching for something magical. It was like she plucked that gold medal right out of thin air!

Even when her times were a bit off earlier this season, she never lost faith in herself. As she put it, “I am not going to lie. I believed that (Olympic gold medallist) should be my goal. When you are preparing to win and get that outcome, it is not unbelievable to you.” She totally tackled the high-pressure Olympic final like a champ, reminding herself she’d been racing against these incredible ladies all year. With that sweet victory fuelling her, Masai was all set to take on her next big challenge at Athlos NYC.

Masai Russell racing into Athlos NYC

Masai Russell gave us all the inside scoop right before her last race of the season at Athlos NYC. Just a few hours before she hit the track, she hopped on X to share, “12.44 in a “catch up” race to end an unforgettable season… I guess you can call me a rookie and a vet.” And guess what? The post totally worked in her favor and while she didn’t take home the gold again, she still snagged a medal with the time she expected. But Masai Russell wasn’t exactly thrilled after missing out on the Tiffany & Co. crown and that hefty $60,000 prize at Alexis Ohanian’s event.

12.44 in a “catch up” race to end an unforgettable season… I guess you can call me a rookie and a vet 🤝🏽

She didn’t hold back with some pretty shocking claims either.

Speaking to reporters after her race, she said, “I want to protest because as anyone can see, there was a lot of flinching going on at the starting line, so that kind of affected me. I was playing catchup the whole entire race. It’s a lot of prize money on the line and I think the person who ran the legal race should get the prize money they deserve.” As soon as Russell hit the track, she claimed her spot in lane 6, flanked by Danielle Williams and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

While Williams was seen gesturing and chatting with competitors, nothing officially changed in the lineup. Russell’s agent even took her concerns to the meet founder. Despite all the drama, Masai snagged third place with a solid 12.44 seconds, just shy of the top spots. Camacho-Quinn took the crown with 12.36, and Alaysha Johnson earned second. Though the

track and field season might be over, Masai is wrapping things up with another shiny medal in hand! Masai Russell’s 2024 season has been one wild ride, and her rise to the top truly took her from “rookie to vet.”

Masai Russell’s 2024 journey from bumps to bling!

Masai kicked off her season with the 60m and 60m hurdles, grabbing second place in the hurdles with a quick 7.89 seconds—impressive, right? Next up was the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, where she just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish at 7.81 seconds. The outdoor season was a bit bumpy, however, as she raced in three Diamond League legs—Xiamen, Shanghai/Suzhou, and the iconic Prefontaine Classic—finishing sixth, fourth, and ninth. But hey, she really turned heads at the HBCU Pro Classic, dropping a wind-legal time of 12.63 seconds and reminding everyone she’s still got it!

And just when you thought the story couldn’t get any better, Masai pulled off a comeback for the ages at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials! She flipped the script and snagged gold in the 100m hurdles in Paris. Now, she’s just added a shiny bronze to her collection at Athlos NYC, proving that every bump in the road just fuelled her fire to shine even brighter!

Masai didn’t just roll home with a bronze at Athlos NYC. The all-girls event had the biggest prize purse ever for a women’s track meet of $US500,000! The top six finishers in each race scored some sweet cash: $60,000 for the winner, $25,000 for second place, and a nice $10,000 for third. So, yep, Masai’s pocketing that $10,000 for her bronze! Talk about a killer way to close out the season!