Masai Russell Wins Olympic Gold in 100m Hurdles, UK Athletes Secure Four Medals on Final Day

On the final day of track and field competition at the Paris Olympic Games, Kentucky Track and Field athletes won four medals, including three gold, bringing the program’s overall haul to a record-breaking six medals for the week.

Masai Russell captured gold in the 100m hurdles in a dramatic photo finish, with Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the reigning gold medalist from Tokyo, securing the bronze. This marks the second consecutive Olympics where the 100m hurdles gold medalist has come from Kentucky, and the second straight Games with two Wildcats on the podium in the event.

In the women’s 4x400m relay, Wildcats comprised fifty percent of the gold medal-winning and American record-setting team. Alexis Holmes earned her first Olympic medal, while Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone claimed her second gold of the Games and the fourth of her career. The American team posted a time of 3:15.27, the second-fastest time in history, just one-tenth of a second off the world record. McLaughlin-Levrone’s second leg gave the USA a lead they never relinquished, and Holmes anchored the race, crossing the line over thirty meters ahead of the silver-medal Dutch team. Both athletes won SEC titles in the 4x400m relay at Kentucky, with Holmes also claiming an NCAA title in the event in 2022.

In the 100m hurdles final, three of the eight competitors were Kentucky representatives, but it was 2023 graduate Masai Russell who emerged victorious. In her first Olympic appearance, Russell made an incredible lean at the finish to secure gold in 12.33 seconds, winning by just one one-hundredth of a second. This victory continues Kentucky’s dominance in the event, following Camacho-Quinn’s gold in Tokyo.

Russell, the collegiate record holder in the 100m hurdles, topped the podium in the deepest field in the event’s history. A four-time NCAA runner-up, she secured her spot in Paris by winning the US Olympic Team Trials in a world-leading 12.25 seconds, setting the stage for her Olympic triumph.

Camacho-Quinn’s bronze medal in the 100m hurdles made her the first Puerto Rican in Olympic history to win multiple medals. Adding to her Tokyo gold, the three-time NCAA champion from Kentucky finished in 12.36 seconds, joining former teammate Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as the second Wildcat to win multiple Olympic medals.

Volunteer Assistant Coach Devynne Charlton, also a finalist in the 100m hurdles, finished sixth with a time of 12.56 seconds. The Bahamian athlete, who trains in Lexington with Russell, is the world record holder in the indoor 60m hurdles and matched her sixth-place finish from Tokyo.

Kentucky Track and Field concluded the Paris Olympics with a program-best six medals: four golds, one silver, and one bronze, surpassing the five medals won by Wildcats in Tokyo.

A full event recap of the Wildcats in Paris can be found below. 

Event Schedule