Masai Russell takes home a Paris gold.
In what was an intensely tight women’s 100-meter hurdles, the 24-year-old Potomac, Maryland, edged out her competition by one-hundredth of a second to top the podium — the first time for the United States since 2016.
She posted the time 12.33.
Russell anxiously waited for her time to come up after the race and frantically ran around to celebrate as France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela was in tears with silver on her home turf.
Samba-Mayela posted a time of 12.34 followed by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who finished in 12.36 for bronze.
Olympics in Paris 2024
Russell placed first at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100-meter hurdles in 12.25 seconds, her personal best.
She previously finished third at the 2023 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships to qualify to represent the United States at the World Championships.