Hurdler Russell sets new American record in 100m hurdles race at Grand Slam Track Meet
A Riveting Day at the Grand Slam Track Meet 🏃♀️💨
In a scorching hot Miami climate, Olympic gold medalist Masai Russell outshone her competitors at the Grand Slam Track meet, smashing the American record in the 100m hurdles with a blistering time of 12.17 seconds 🏆. With this performance, she zoomed into the second spot on the world's all-time list, just behind Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who holds the world record of 12.12 seconds set at the 2022 World Championships 🇳🇬🚀.
The 24-year-old sensation, Russell, appeared dumbfounded when she saw her astonishing time on the scoreboard. In a thrilling race, she edged past fellow American Tia Jones, who clocked a time of 12.19 seconds – the third-fastest ever recorded in the event. Jamaica's Ackera Nugent rounded off the top three contestants 🇯🇲.
Notably, the competition went down under the maximum allowable tailwind of 2.0, which somehow seemed to work wonders for the racers 🌬️.
Speaking after her remarkable win, Russell appeared speechless. "I can't even tell you," she said, wide-eyed and looking stunned. "These women bring out the best in me."
Furthermore, Keni Harrison, who had previously held the American record with a time of 12.20 seconds, marked her presence at the event 🤝.
Meanwhile, on the women's 100m dash, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden swept to victory with a mesmerizing time of 10.75 seconds, leaving the wind limit surpassed 🌫️. American Tamari Davis trailed closely behind with 10.79 seconds, while Favour Ofili of Nigeria took the third spot on the podium, and American Gabby Thomas clocked in fourth 🥉.
Interestingly, Jefferson-Wooden had already made waves in the track and field community by winning the women's 100m at the inaugural Grand Slam Track event in Kingston, Jamaica just last month 🏆♥️.
When asked about her aspirations for the sport, the American candidly expressed her drive to cement her name amongst the greats. "I want to be one of the greatest to ever do this sport," Jefferson-Wooden told FloTrack. "I don't want to be one of the ones who they say, 'She was always on the circuit, but she didn't win a lot of medals,'" she added. "No, I want when people see Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to know that she's here and she's not here to play."
On the men's side, Irishman Andrew Coscoran snatched the win in the 3000m race with a time of 8:17.56, outmaneuvering American Grant Fisher and England's George Mills 🇮🇪🔥.
The three-day Grand Slam Track meet in Miami marked the second event of its debut season. Conceptualized by four-times Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, the series challenges the Diamond League, traditionally the sport's standard-bearer, with its 15 competitions annually in diverse cities across the globe – from Xiamen to Zurich 🌐🥇.
- In the 2022 Grand Slam Track meet, Keni Harrison, the previous American record holder in the 100m hurdles, clocked a time of fastest than her personal best, but still missed the world record set by Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, the current record holder who achieved the fastest time in 2022 at the World Championships.
- Russell's win in the 100m hurdles was achieved under a tailwind of 2.0, making it one of the races where the fastest times were recorded in sports history.
- The 2022 Grand Slam Track meet, held in Miami, saw Melissa Jefferson-Wooden breaking the American record in the women's 100m dash, setting a fastest time of 10.75 seconds, just a few milliseconds slower than the world record.
