Meet the world record-holding, YouTube star American hurdler Masai Russell

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Fourteen races, fourteen victories and a new world-record to boot. Few athletes in the world have had a more successful 2026 than American track and field star Masai Russell, if any at all.

The 26-year-old, though, is not done yet.

Ahead of a career-defining, two-year cycle which includes the World Championships in 2027 and 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Russell wants to show that she is the “best hurdler to ever exist.”

“Just like people are still talking about Usain Bolt and how his records just seem so untouchable,” she says to CNN Sports , “I want people to question the same thing about Masai like, ‘How was she able to do this?’”

It’s remarkable to think that, this year, Russell stood on the 100m hurdles start line 14 times and, on every occasion, crossed the finish line first.

For a sense of that dominance, the last team to go 14-0 at the start of an NFL season was the Carolina Panthers in 2015.

Her unbeaten record, however, tells only part of the story. In August, at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, the Olympic champion broke the world record, clocking a time of 12.09, beating Tobi Amusan’s previous mark by three-hundredths of a second.

Russell, though, was hardly surprised. “When I ran 12.09, I was like: Did we not expect this?’” she says.

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“At the end of the day, it was truly just a blessing to put the work in for so many years and to see the work come out. Regardless of what people have said that I could or couldn’t do, it’s a blessing to see that hard work really does work.”

To round off a flawless season, Russell won the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in 12.22 – the ninth time she went under 12.3 seconds this year. For context, a female athlete has run under 12.3 in the discipline only 49 times in history.

Her unbeaten season and world record have earned Russell a nomination for the 2026 Women’s World Athlete of the Year award, which will be presented at the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on November 29.

Given the scale of Russell’s extraordinary achievements, it would be foolish to bet against her taking the crown, though she faces stiff competition from athletes including 100m and 200m star Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and European 800m champion Audrey Werro.

“I think whatever is meant for me is gonna be,” she says with a wry smile. “But I don’t think anyone did what I did this year in terms of being undefeated, breaking the world record, the times that I was running, all the meet records that I broke.

“So, whatever’s going to be is going to be – but I do believe I should win it.”

Russell first began athletics at eight years old, growing up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in a fiercely competitive family.

Her older brothers, Philip and Divine, played basketball and used track to improve their speed. For their younger sister, they became her first competitors. Some of her earliest athletics memories are of racing them on the street outside their house.

“I think my competitive drive definitely came from growing up with my brothers, growing up being the only girl for a long time, just really becoming one of the guys,” Russell recalls.

“I think that’s why I was so fast because I was just competing against them, trying to keep up with them.”

Russell’s parents, Sharon and Mark Russell, devoted countless hours to helping her pursue her ambitions, providing the support that would underpin her rise to the top of the sport.

She recalls endless days spent at track meets where her father would set up a tent and make sure she had food and the support needed to thrive.

Similarly, Russell watched her mother balance parenthood with her medical career as a doctor, demonstrating the work ethic that has stayed with her throughout her career.

“She definitely showed me what hard work was, what hard work looked like, what being driven and getting it done regardless of how you feel.”

Even as a carefree eight-year-old, Russell was developing the drive that would define her career.

“I was always having fun, but I had a competitive edge to me. I always just wanted to win. I always wanted to be the best and I just had a different work ethic than everyone else.”

The lessons learned and the work ethic instilled by her parents would prove crucial when Russell encountered the first major setbacks in her career.

At the 2023 NCAA Championships in Texas, Russell ran a blistering time of 12.32 yet was beaten to the line by Ackera Nugent.

Later that summer, having turned professional, Russell qualified for her first World Championships but crashed out at the semifinals after clipping the second hurdle.

It was a crushing blow for a supremely talented athlete ready to show what she was made of on the world stage. Painful as it was, Russell saw the setback as part of the process.

“I’ve lost a lot, but at the end of the day, you can’t win without losing,” she tells CNN Sports. “You can’t win without failure; you can’t win without having some bumps in the road to make you appreciate why you have won.”

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The 2024 season also began poorly and winning felt “allergic” to Russell. By her own admission, her times were underwhelming and her first season as a pro athlete threatened to disappoint.

Then it all clicked. Russell won her first national title at the US Olympic Trials, setting herself up for the biggest race of her career at the Olympics in Paris.

A little over a month later, Russell claimed gold in the women’s 100m hurdles, edging out France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela by one hundredth of a second.

“Crossing the line in Paris, I didn’t know that I won,” Russell recalls. “I looked up and was like ‘I know I got a medal, but which one?’ And when I saw my name come up, I just lost it.

“I won the Olympic trials a month before that which was the first time I ever won a national title, and then to come a month later to win my first global title was nothing but a dream, nothing but a freaking dream.”

The emotion of Russell’s Olympic triumph is captured in her YouTube vlog “ I WON THE OLYMPICS ”, which offers a glimpse of the celebrations shared with her family and team in Paris.

Russell’s long-time coach Lonnie Greene has worked with her since her days at the University of Kentucky. In the vlog, a bleary-eyed Greene addresses the camera in the aftermath of her victory.

“I told you. I told you you could break the world record, if not be the Olympic champion, and God has allowed that to come to fruition. You will break the world record sooner than you think.”

How remarkably prescient that prediction turned out to be.

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Russell began her YouTube channel in 2017 as a 16-year-old and it’s where she feels the greatest connection with her fans – all 69,300 of them – sharing blogs about her personal and professional life.

But Russell’s ambitions extend beyond creating content. With an established following across YouTube and Instagram and her own merchandise line, she is already building a personal brand that can exist independently of her athletics career.

“I love to create content and just show my life and show what I’m doing and showcase the things off the track too and showing that I’m bigger than just an athlete,” she says.

“So, yeah, the biggest motivation for me is just allowing people to come on this journey with me.”

From racing her brothers on the streets of Upper Marlboro to becoming the fastest female 100-meter hurdler in history, Russell has already come a long way.

But the next two years will help determine her legacy in the sport.

She will first have a shot at redemption at the World Championships in 2027, followed by the LA Olympic Games in 2028 where she’ll bid to become the first woman in history to win back-to-back 100m hurdles Olympic titles.

“I’ve won the Ultimates and checked that off. Won the Olympics and checked that off,” she says. “But now, it’s time to check off a World Championship title and dominate. Continue to show people that I am the best hurdler to ever exist.”

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十四场比赛，十四场胜利，还创造了一项新的世界纪录。2026年，恐怕没有几个运动员能比得上美国田径明星马赛·拉塞尔的辉煌成就。

不过，这位26岁的年轻人还没有结束他的征程。

在即将到来的为期两年的职业生涯关键周期（包括 2027 年世界锦标赛和 2028 年洛杉矶奥运会）之前，拉塞尔希望证明自己是“有史以来最伟大的跨栏运动员”。

“就像人们还在谈论尤塞恩·博尔特，以及他的纪录似乎遥不可及一样，”她对 CNN 体育频道说，“我希望人们对玛赛也有同样的疑问，比如，‘她是怎么做到的？’”

令人难以置信的是，今年拉塞尔14次站在100米栏的起跑线上，并且每次都第一个冲过终点线。

为了感受这种统治力，上一次有球队在 NFL 赛季开始时取得 14 胜 0 负的战绩，还要追溯到 2015 年的卡罗莱纳黑豹队。

然而，她保持不败的纪录仅仅讲述了故事的一部分。8月，在苏黎世举行的钻石联赛上，这位奥运冠军打破了世界纪录，跑出了12.09秒的成绩，比托比·阿穆桑之前的纪录快了0.03秒。

不过，拉塞尔对此并不感到意外。“当我跑出12.09秒的成绩时，我就想：难道我们没预料到吗？”她说道。

丹尼斯·巴利布斯/路透社

“说到底，能够付出这么多年的努力并看到成果，真是一种莫大的恩赐。不管别人怎么说我能做到或做不到什么，能够看到努力真的会有回报，这本身就是一种莫大的恩赐。”

为了完美收官，拉塞尔以12.22秒的成绩赢得了首届世界田径极限飞盘锦标赛冠军——这是她今年第九次跑进12.3秒。作为参考，历史上女子运动员在该项目中跑进12.3秒的次数仅有49次。

凭借不败赛季和世界纪录，拉塞尔获得了 2026 年世界最佳女运动员奖的提名，该奖项将于 11 月 29 日在摩纳哥举行的世界田径颁奖典礼上颁发。

鉴于拉塞尔取得的非凡成就，押注她不会夺冠是愚蠢的，尽管她面临着来自包括 100 米和 200 米明星梅丽莎·杰斐逊-伍登和欧洲 800 米冠军奥黛丽·韦罗在内的运动员的激烈竞争。

“我觉得命中注定的事终究会发生，”她苦笑着说。“但我认为今年没有人能像我一样保持不败，打破世界纪录，跑出那样的好成绩，打破那么多赛会纪录。”

“所以，顺其自然吧——但我相信我应该能赢。”

拉塞尔八岁时就开始接触体育运动，他在马里兰州上马尔伯勒长大，他的家庭竞争非常激烈。

她的哥哥菲利普和迪瓦恩都打篮球，还通过田径训练来提高速度。对于妹妹来说，他们成了她最早的竞争对手。她最早的运动记忆之一，就是和哥哥们在自家门外的街道上赛跑。

“我认为我的竞争意识肯定来自于和兄弟们一起长大，很长一段时间里我都是家里唯一的女孩，所以真的变成了和男生一样的人，”罗素回忆道。

“我想这就是我速度那么快的原因，因为我一直在和他们竞争，努力跟上他们的步伐。”

拉塞尔的父母莎伦和马克·拉塞尔投入了无数时间帮助她追求梦想，为她最终登上这项运动的顶峰提供了支持。

她回忆起无数个在田径比赛现场度过的日子，她的父亲会搭起帐篷，确保她有食物和成长所需的一切支持。

同样，罗素亲眼目睹了她的母亲如何在照顾孩子和从事医生事业之间取得平衡，展现了她贯穿整个职业生涯的职业道德。

“她让我真正明白了什么是努力，努力是什么样的，什么是动力，以及无论感觉如何都要把事情做好。”

即使在无忧无虑的八岁时，拉塞尔也展现出了将定义她职业生涯的进取心。

“我一直都很享受比赛，但我身上有一种竞争意识。我总是渴望胜利，总是想成为最棒的，我的工作态度也和别人不一样。”

父母灌输给她的经验和职业道德，在拉塞尔职业生涯中第一次遭遇重大挫折时，发挥了至关重要的作用。

在 2023 年德克萨斯州举行的 NCAA 锦标赛上，拉塞尔跑出了惊人的 12.32 秒的成绩，但最终还是被阿克拉·纽金特在终点线前击败。

那年夏天晚些时候，拉塞尔转为职业选手后，获得了参加世界锦标赛的资格，但在半决赛中撞到第二个栏架后被淘汰出局。

对于这位天赋异禀、准备在世界舞台上展现自身实力的运动员来说，这无疑是沉重的打击。尽管痛苦万分，拉塞尔还是将这次挫折视为成长过程的一部分。

“我输过很多次，但归根结底，不经历失败就没有胜利，”她告诉CNN体育频道。“不经历失败就没有胜利；不经历一些坎坷，你就不会懂得珍惜胜利的意义。”

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2024赛季开局同样糟糕，胜利对拉塞尔来说似乎是一种“过敏反应”。她自己也承认，她的成绩令人失望，作为职业运动员的第一个赛季险些令人失望。

然后一切都豁然开朗。拉塞尔在美国奥运选拔赛上赢得了她的第一个全国冠军头衔，这让她得以参加在巴黎奥运会上职业生涯中最重要的一场比赛。

一个月后，拉塞尔在女子100米栏比赛中夺得金牌，以百分之一秒的优势险胜​​法国选手西雷娜·桑巴-马耶拉。

“冲过巴黎的终点线时，我并不知道自己赢了，”拉塞尔回忆道。“我抬头一看，心想‘我知道我得了一枚奖牌，但究竟是哪一枚呢？’当我看到我的名字出现时，我简直欣喜若狂。”

“一个月前我赢得了奥运选拔赛，那是我第一次获得全国冠军，一个月后我又赢得了我的第一个世界冠军，这简直就像做梦一样，真的就像做梦一样。”

拉塞尔在 YouTube 视频博客“我赢得了奥运会”中记录了她赢得奥运会的激动心情，该视频展现了她在巴黎与家人和团队一起庆祝的场景。

拉塞尔的长期教练朗尼·格林从她就读肯塔基大学时就开始指导她。在视频博客中，格林在比赛获胜后，眼眶有些湿润地对着镜头讲话。

“我早就告诉过你，你不仅能打破世界纪录，甚至还能成为奥运冠军，上帝也让这一切成为了现实。你打破世界纪录的速度会比你想象的要快得多。”

事实证明，这个预测真是惊人地准确。

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Russell 于 2017 年 16 岁时创建了自己的 YouTube 频道，在那里她与粉丝（共 69,300 名粉丝）建立了最紧密的联系，并分享了有关她个人和职业生活的博客。

但拉塞尔的雄心壮志远不止于内容创作。她在YouTube和Instagram上拥有众多粉丝，并推出了自己的周边产品线，她正在打造一个可以独立于其体育生涯而存在的个人品牌。

“我喜欢创作内容，展示我的生活，展示我正在做的事情，展示赛道之外的事情，展现我不仅仅是一名运动员，”她说。

“所以，是的，我最大的动力就是让人们和我一起踏上这段旅程。”

从在马里兰州上马尔伯勒的街头与哥哥们赛跑，到成为历史上最快的女子100米栏运动员，拉塞尔已经走过了漫长的道路。

但接下来的两年将有助于决定她在这项运动中的地位。

她将首先在 2027 年世界田径锦标赛上获得救赎的机会，然后参加 2028 年洛杉矶奥运会，力争成为历史上第一个连续两届获得奥运会女子 100 米栏冠军的女子运动员。

“我已经赢得了Ultimates冠军，完成了这个目标。我也赢得了奥运会冠军，完成了这个目标，”她说。“但现在，是时候拿下世界冠军头衔，称霸赛场了。继续向世人证明，我是有史以来最伟大的跨栏运动员。”