"This just warmed my heart so much" - Masai Russell on being featured as a remarkable athlete during Black History Month

NCAA record-holder Masai Russell recently expressed her gratitude and shared a heart-warming message after being honored as a remarkable athlete during Black History Month.

Russell holds the NCAA record in the women's 100m hurdles, which she set during the Texas Relay in April 2023, clocking an impressive time of 12.36 seconds. She also represented the United States at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital in the 100m hurdles. She finished second in the heats, registering a time of 12.60 seconds.

Andscape, a media/news company, recently featured her as a remarkable athlete shaping professional sports during Black History Month celebrated from February 1 to March 1.

The 23-year-old shared the video on her Instagram story and penned an affectionate message while expressing her gratitude.

"Awwwwww thank you," she wrote. "This just warmed my heart so much! Happy black history month."

Screenshot of Masai Russell's Instagram story.

Further, she also commented on the video saying,

"Wowww such an honor ❤️❤️❤️"

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"I know I'm not done" - Masai Russell on failing to qualify for the finals at the World Championships

Masai Russell of Team United States looks on after the Women's 100m Hurdles Semi-Final during the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Although Masai Russell displayed a notable performance in the 100m hurdles heat in Budapest, she fell short of qualifying for the finals.

During the semi-finals, the 23-year-old hit the second and third hurdles. She did not finish the race, resulting in her disqualification. She expressed her disheartenment after the race (via Real Talk with Tee on YouTube), stating that even though the race was dreadful, she wasn't done yet.

"I feel like I did everything," Russell said. "I mean you know what it is what it is. Things happen. I worked hard. I know I'm not done. You know I mean we all have like, on my back, I got tatted like we can make our plans but the lord determines our steps. So it sucks right now but I don't know what's down the road for me then I know I'll be very happy about."

Further, Russell even asserted that she was content with advancing to the semi-finals when no one expected her to compete in the World Championships.

"I'm not even tripping," she continued. "It hurts right now but lesson's learnt, first time out here so I'm happy to be here. No one expected me to be here. So to make it this far it definitely means a lot."