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