Masai Russell world record celebrated in Nike video with Questlove, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Masai Russell stunned the world with her incredible performance as she shattered the 100m hurdles world record, clocking in at an astonishing 12.09 seconds. Nike wasted no time in celebrating the achievement through a video that featured Questlove and Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce honoring the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and new world record holder. Russell, a 26-year-old from Washington, D.C., had been inching closer to the record for the past two seasons, with times ranging from 12.14 to 12.24.

The New York native broke the previous record of 12.12, previously held by Nigerian Tobi Amusan, at the 2022 World Championship. Remarkably, she achieved this feat without a tailwind, making her accomplishment all the more impressive. Russell told Flotrack, "When I came through the line, I had to post up a little bit like, come on now, did we not expect this?" Upon seeing her time settle in, she exclaimed, "What the hell, I really did it."

Russell had long been aware of the skepticism surrounding her potential to break the world record, as she had previously bookmarked a 12.14 PB by the end of her career. She quipped to Flotrack, "I can't wait to quote-tweet that because I'm just like, y'all really doubted me? Every time y'all doubt me I just show y'all that I'm not like anybody else."

With her Olympic gold medal and world record in hand, Russell now looks ahead to her next challenges. She hopes to claim her first Diamond League Final title in Brussels (Sept. 4-5) and the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest (Sept. 11-13). Russell is confident, stating, "If we get a 1.9 (meter/second) wind behind my back, that could have been a sub-12 race," and adding, "Everything that I've said that I wanted to do has come into fruition, so why not say I think I can be the first one to run sub-12?"