Masai Russell

Sports Career of Masai Russell | Masai Russell

Masai Russell is the American record holder in the 100-meter hurdles. She started running when she was a kid and started competitive athletics as a teenager. Her first competitive races came in the 400-meter when she was 14.

In her early career, Russell ran a variety of short sprints, and starting from 2017, she focused on the 400-meter hurdles. She broke a minute for the first time in the event at the USA U20 Championships in 2017.  This time qualified her for the Pan American U20 Championships, where she finished third with a personal best of 57.55 seconds.

Russell started focusing on the short hurdles the next year at the beginning of her college career with the Kentucky Wildcats, running 13.93 seconds in her first race in the 100-meter hurdles.

She improved this time rapidly over her first collegiate season, running a slightly windy 13.02 seconds in April. She posted a legal time of 13.18 seconds at the SEC Championships in May, and she ran 13.42 seconds in the final of the USA U20 Championships, finishing second and qualifying for the Pan American U20 Championships in Costa Rica. She won her heat at these championships but was disqualified in the final.

Russell also ran the 400-meter hurdles at the Pan American U20 Championships, finishing with a personal best of 56.29 seconds and finishing second.

Most of Russell’s 2020 season was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She broke the 13-second barrier in the 100-meter hurdles for the first time in 2021, running 12.99 seconds at the SEC outdoor championships. She then dropped her personal best to 12.90 seconds at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships.

Russell went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Division I Championships with a personal best of 56.18 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles and sixth in the 100-meter hurdles. 

Russell continued to see improvements the next year, running 12.75 seconds at the Joe May Invitational. A few weeks later, she ran 12.71 seconds at the Kentucky Invitational. She also improved her personal best in the 400-meter hurdles at the USA Outdoor Championships with a time of 55.02 seconds. 

Russell finished her third NCAA Division I season with a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, a second-place finish in the 4×100-meter relay, and a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles.

Breakout and International Success

Russell had already established herself as one of the best hurdlers in the United States, but she would run some of the fastest times in history in 2023.

On April 1, she ran a just legal time in the 100-meter hurdles of 12.36 seconds, breaking the NCAA record. She broke this time again at the NCAA Division I Championships with a time of 12.32 seconds, but the wind was over the legal limit. Still, she finished second and also finished second in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best of 54.66 seconds.

She qualified for the World Championships in the 100-meter Hurdles and finished second in her heat with a time of 12.60 seconds. She didn’t finish her race in the final.

Masai Russell Olympics 2024 and Beyond

Russell consistently ran under 12.80 seconds in the early 2024 season and posted a personal best of 12.25 seconds in the final of the USA Olympic Trials, running only 0.13 seconds off the world record held by Tobi Amusan. At the time, it was the seventh fastest time ever run.

This time made her one of the favorites at the Olympics. She won her prelim and finished second in her semi-final at the Olympics, only behind Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. In the final, she ran 12.33 seconds, edging out Cyréna Samba-Mayela by 0.01 seconds to win Gold

At the Grand Slam Miami meeting on May 2, 2025, Russell ran a 12.17-second time with a 2.0m/s wind. The time broke Kendra Harrison’s American record of 12.20 seconds and was the second fastest time ever run. In the same race, Tia Jones ran 12.19 seconds, the third fastest time of all time.

Russell almost matched this time again at the 2025 Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, running 12.19 seconds with a 1.4m/s wind. She went on to finish fourth at the World Championships with a time of 12.44.

Masai Russell Personal Life and Other Facts | Who Is Masai Russell?

Russell graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2023 with a degree in Health Science. She’s currently sponsored by Nike. Her hometown is Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Masai Russell comes from a large family with three brothers. The first sport she got involved in was gymnastics, but she often played sports like basketball and football with her brothers. She also tried ballet.

She first got involved in track around the age of 8 or 9. In elementary school, she used to “always beat everybody” in races.

Masai Russell is part of the WWE’s inaugural “Next In Line” NIL program. She signed up for the program in 2021. It aims to identify athletes with the charisma and personality needed to thrive in the sports entertainment industry.  It was created in response to NCAA rule changes that allowed athletes to profit from their name and likeness.

FAQs | Masai Russell

How Old Is Masai Russell? | Masai Russell Age

Masai Russell is currently 25 years old, born on June 17, 2000.

How Tall Is Masai Russell? | Masai Russell Height

Masai Russell has a similar build to many other elite female hurdlers. She’s roughly 5’3” or 160 centimeters tall.

Where is Masai Russell From?

Masai Russell was born in Washington, D.C., in the United States and grew up in Maryland.