American Masai Russell wins gold in 100 meter hurdle by a hundredth of a second : NPR

Masai Russell, of the United States, wins the women’s 100-meter hurdles final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Petr David Josek/AP

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Petr David Josek/AP

SAINT-DENIS, France — Masai Russell bolted down the track, legs scissoring gracefully as she cleared the ten hurdles that separated her from the finish line.

Rai Benjamin of the U.S. celebrates after winning gold ahead of silver medalist Karsten Warholm of Norway, seen behind him, in the 400-meter hurdles final at the Paris Olympics on Friday.

The 24-year-old from Maryland lunged across a fraction of a second ahead of French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela. Her margin of victory? One one-hundredth of a second.

There was a moment’s delay while the photo finish was analyzed and Russell leapt in the air when her gold-medal win was confirmed. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico took bronze at the Olympics.

The win bookends a dominant showing for U.S. women hurdlers in Paris. On Thursday, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone smashed her own world record winning gold in the women’s 400-meter final.