Nationwide — Masai Russell, a 26-year-old African American track-and-field star, is making history in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. After winning all 14 of her races in 2026 and breaking the world record, the American Olympic champion is setting her sights on another major achievement: winning a world championship and defending her Olympic title.
She delivered a remarkable season, going undefeated while recording several meet records. According to CNN, one of her biggest achievements came in August at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, where she clocked 12.09 seconds to set a new world record. She took three-hundredths of a second off the previous record held by Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan. She later secured another victory at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships, finishing in 12.22 seconds. It was her ninth time running under 12.3 seconds in 2026, a mark that female athletes had reached only 49 times in the event’s history.
Her performances earned her a nomination for the 2026 Women’s World Athlete of the Year award. The winner will be announced at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on November 29. Other nominees include sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and European 800-meter champion Audrey Werro. Russell believes her undefeated season, record-breaking performance and consistent results put her in a strong position for the honor. She credits years of preparation and hard work for reaching this level, saying her world-record performance reflected the effort she had invested throughout her career.
The Maryland native began competing in track and field at age eight. Growing up in Upper Marlboro, she often raced her older brothers, Philip and Devine, who played basketball and used track workouts to improve their speed. Those childhood competitions helped develop her drive to win. Her parents, Sharon and Mark Russell, also supported her athletic ambitions. Her father regularly attended her track meets, while her mother, a doctor, taught her the value of discipline and dedication through her own demanding career. Outside competition, Russell has also built a following online. She started her YouTube channel in 2017 at age 16 and now has more than 69,000 subscribers. Her videos give fans a look at her training, personal life and experiences beyond the track.
However, her rise to the top included several setbacks. She finished second to Ackera Nugent at the 2023 NCAA Championships despite running 12.32 seconds. Later that summer, she qualified for her first World Championships but failed to reach the final after hitting a hurdle during the semifinals. Her first professional season in 2024 also started slowly. She eventually found her form at the U.S. Olympic Trials, winning her first national title and securing a spot on the American Olympic team. At the Paris Olympics, she claimed gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, edging out France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela by just one-hundredth of a second. Her YouTube vlog, I WON THE OLYMPICS, captured the emotional moment and the celebrations with her family and team. Her longtime coach, Lonnie Greene, had believed she could become an Olympic champion and eventually break the world record.
Now, Russell is preparing for the next stage of her career. She wants to win her first World Championships title in 2027 before returning to the Olympic stage in Los Angeles in 2028. Winning another gold medal would make her the first woman to claim consecutive Olympic titles in the 100-meter hurdles. She also plans to continue growing her presence outside athletics through content creation and her merchandise business. Having already won Olympic gold and the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, she is focused on adding a world championship title to her achievements. Russell has made it clear that her goal is not simply to maintain her success but to establish herself as the greatest hurdler in the sport.