While an Olympic title was decided by the final hurdle on Saturday, the winning lean was secured by an American. 

Maryland native and former Kentucky star Masai Russell earned her first global victory with a winning time of 12.33 seconds inside Stade de France at the Paris Olympics, securing her championship by a hundredth-of-a-second over France's Cyréna Samba-Mayela and earning the U.S.'s first gold since 2016.

It came after she failed to reach the final at the World Championships in Budapest last year. 

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"I knew it was going to come down to a dive," Russell said. "I didn't see anybody. I was just leaning. I ended up out-leaning her by, what, a hundredth of a second? I knew it was going to come down to that. So the fact that I was that close between a gold and a silver, I'm glad I did." 

Reigning 2021 Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who poured it on early and defeated Russell in the pair's semifinal, was third in 12.36. 

American Grace Stark was fifth in 12.43, while Alaysha Johnson hit a hurdle over the front-half of her race and fell to seventh in 12.93.

IT'S MASAI AT THE LINE 🇺🇸🥇

Masai Russell with the LEAN at the finish as the U.S. champion comes away with Olympic gold in the women's 100m hurdles in 12.33 (-0.3), taking it by just one-hundredth of a second!

Home crowd favorite Cyrena Samba-Mayela 🇫🇷 took silver in 12.34, and… pic.twitter.com/D8mytCjszp

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 10, 2024

The Back Story Of Russell's Emergence

Russell's performance was a reminder of why she was in Paris in the first place. 

"I wanted to come out here, and, you know, put my name on history," Russell said. "Last year when I was in Budapest, like, I didn't make it through to the finals. I fell. But I always knew I always had the talent and capability  of being one of the best 100 meter hurdlers ever." 

The former Bullis School star claimed her first U.S. title in June at the Olympic Trials, securing the fourth-fastest 100mH finish in American history in 12.25. 

"I wrote it down. I said it. I've fallen so short so many times this year. But I mean, none of those races matter now."

On Saturday, her focus and technique catalyzed from the seventh-hurdle-on, ultimately sending Russell to the line past Camacho-Quinn -- like Russell, a former University of Kentucky star -- and Samba-Mayela, the Frenchwoman. 

Russell had turned pro just after her NCAA season in 2023, which saw her author two individual runner-up finishes in the 100mH and 400mH and the 4x100 and net the NCAA record in the 100mH in 12.36. Her collegiate career never saw her win an outright NCAA title. 

But she had showed her potential following those performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, making her first team after finishing third in the 100mH in 12.46. 

"I wrote it down. I said it," Russell said. "I've fallen so short so many times this year. But I mean, none of those races matter now." 

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