By Pura Vida Sports Africa Reporter
Long before the starting blocks click into place and the stadium roar swells into a deafening crescendo, Masai Russell is somewhere else entirely. She is not pacing the warm-up track with a vacant stare, nor is she frantically reviewing race splits. She is in her own world, anchored by the heavy, rhythmic basslines of a Drake track, absorbing lyrics that calibrate her mindset for what is about to come.
For the reigning Olympic champion and newly-minted world record holder in the 100 metres hurdles, Canadian rap superstar Drake's tracks serve as the ultimate pre-race soundtrack, providing the precise lyrical cadence and charged energy needed to transition from calm focus to world-record velocity on the track; it is the vital psychological bridge between ordinary life and elite combat.
“Of course, the music that you listen to has to set the tone, has to set the vibe going into competition," Russell reflects, her trademark poise evident even when dissecting her pre-race rituals. "I listen to a lot of Drake and a little bit of Megan the Stallion… she has just one song on my playlist… But mainly Drake. Drake has been the artist of the year and I tell my friends 'you’ve got to tap in with Drake.'”
Bearing a name that resonates deeply in Kenya, Russell harbors a profound, long-standing ambition to cross the Atlantic and immerse herself in the cradle of her namesake heritage, in the Rift Valley, with the Maasai people.
Masai Russell (second right) in action at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. (Photo / Ross Turteltaub for World Athletics)
"Of course I’ve always wanted to go to Africa, but it still must make sense for my team and I," Russell notes, balancing her personal bucket list with the rigorous demands of elite professional athletics. "We were already talking about it earlier this season about going to Simbine’s meet—the Akani Simbine Classic in Pretoria — at the start of the season next year. So, it just has to make sense with my team and what makes sense to me as an athlete, setting myself up for the best case possible going into the World Championships."
Pilgrimage to see the Maasai
For Russell, a trip to the continent is envisioned as far more than a transit stop for a track meet. It is a pilgrimage: “A goal of mine is to be in Africa, be in the Maasai tribe, see the Maasai tribe and, of course, the African Safari experience… that’s like a given!" she says, her eyes lighting up at the prospect during the virtual interview attended by global track and field journalists / media houses, including Pura Vida Sports Africa, and curated by World Athletics’ Laura Arcoleo.
“I do wanna go to Africa, but, like I said, if it makes sense and my team and I come up with something that works for me, I sure will be there!”
Interestingly, Masai’s name wasn’t directly sourced from Ngong, Kajiado, or Trans Mara, unlike former Denver Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri whose mother, Dr. Paula Grace Ujiri, is Kenyan.
“My parents didn’t go to Africa or get my name from an African tribe…,” she explains. “Once they named me that, they ended up later knowing it’s an African tribe. They they couldn’t think of what they could name me and they actually saw a name on a store – Masai Designs – and thought it was a pretty name. Later on, it ended up having a greater meaning. That’s the story behind my name.”
To understand Russell’s dominance on the global circuit is to understand this deliberate curation of energy. She describes herself unreservedly as a "lyrics person." For the American hurdler, the cadence and conviction of a song dictate the physical and emotional frequency she carries onto the track.
Masai Russell during the virtual interview on Thursday (September 3). 'I listen to what I want my tone and energy to be before I step onto the line, and it has been working out well for me.' (Screengrab / Elias Makori)
"Whatever energy you’re trying to portray when you get onto the track, or what you are listening to or doing prior to getting onto the track, is gonna be the build-up to that," she explains. "I listen to what I want my tone and energy to be before I step onto the line, and it has been working out well for me."
Instagram with a Meaning
Asked by Pura Vida Sports Africa about precisely which lyrical mantras preceded her historic world record run in Zurich, Russell playfully deflects, pointing instead to her digital footprint as a map of her psyche: "There were a lot of songs that I was listening to. But go to my Instagram and go through a couple of the posts and listen to the lyrics… I tell everyone that every song that I post on my Instagram has a meaning. So just take a listen to the lyrics and you’ll hear whatever song I listen to and that will be the vibe of what you’ll get on the post."
That meticulous vibe recently culminated in absolute athletic perfection at the Stadion Letzigrund.
On a pristine, dead-calm evening during the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League, Russell cemented her status as the undisputed queen of the sprint hurdles by rewriting history. Tearing over the 10-flight barrier course with breathtaking technical precision, she stopped the clock at an astonishing 12.09 seconds.
Running without a breath of wind assistance, Russell shaved three-hundredths of a second off the previous global benchmark of 12.12 seconds — a record set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 2022.
Masai Russel silences critics after shaving off three-hundredths of a second off the previous global benchmark of 12.12 seconds to set a new world record of 12.09 at the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League. (Photo / Diamond League)
In a dramatic twist of sporting theatre, Amusan finished second in that very same race, bearing witness to a new era of sprinting supremacy. The performance preserved Russell's perfect, undefeated streak for the season and elevated her into rare historical air, making her the first woman in nearly four decades to simultaneously hold both the Olympic gold medal and the individual world record in the event.
Intentional Decompression Strategy
Yet, stepping away from the white lines requires an equally intentional decompression strategy. The intensity required to clear barriers at world-record velocity is emotionally exhausting, and Russell guards her peace fiercely when she is away from the stadium.
"Some hobbies that I like to dibble and dabble in away from the sport is a little bit of pickleball," she shares with a smile.
"Of course, when I’m in season I try not to do too much, but I do love to do pickleball, hang out with my friends, watch movies, watch shows, and be around people that allow me to decompress. Because when I get into the field of play, I’m very intense and I’m very locked in, and it’s a very charged routine. So when I’m able to be just myself and take a deep breath from my running community, that’s something that I like to do."
Beyond the pickleball courts and the curated playlists, a much larger geographical and cultural horizon beckons.
That same vibrant personality extends to her camaraderie on the global circuit. When jokingly prodded about whether she has considered lending her vocal talents to pole vault king Mondo Duplantis, who has famously teased a need for backing singers in his musical endeavors with the singing of the Ultimate Championship’s new anthem, Russell’s competitive streak flashes with humor.
"Back-up? I’m not a back-up kind of girl, so if he wants me right beside him, that’s where I’m gonna be," she quips. "I have been learning the words of the Ultimate anthem. Maybe if I learn the words, me and him can figure something out… maybe I can be his right-hand man, but I don’t know about backup."
Whether she is headlining a track meet in Europe, planning an eventual cultural journey to the plains of East Africa, or demanding center stage rather than a secondary harmony, Masai Russell operates entirely on her own terms. The stopwatch has validated her greatness, but it is her unmistakable rhythm that continues to define her reign.
And Kenyans hope to see the star on their shores soon…
(With additional reporting from internet sources)
elias.makori@ymail.com
