On Saturday, Olympic gold medalist Masai Russell claimed her first U.S. indoor title in the 60m hurdles in 7.74 seconds—it was a personal best by one hundredth and the world’s best time of 2025. But even the best need a quick break, right? Russell understands this well. “For me personally and me mentally, I like to take a break before like spinning it up again,” she said after the win.
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With this, the athlete will skip the World Indoors and instead choose to focus on her outdoor season. This could be an important decision in the long run to protect herself from fatigue. Now, Rob, who is a high school track and field coach, has shared his views on the same. On his YouTube channel, ‘Coach Rob Track and Field,’ he stated:
“Many of them aren’t even interested in going over to China to compete Indoors. I get it. Each of them have their reasons. Masai Russell set a new world lead… You probably didn’t get to watch it because it wasn’t available on a live television stream when they ran that event on Saturday.
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“Either way, she [Masai Russell] is a part of Grand Slam Track, and because the world indoor meet conflicts with the schedule for Grand Slam Track, or at least it’s very close on the calendar. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to focus on that event when she could focus on the one she’s already contracted for, that does pay good money.
Do you support Masai Russell’s decision to skip the World Athletics Indoor Championships to focus on the outdoor season?
Yes, it’s a smart move for her career
No, she should compete in both
Maybe, but it depends on her long-term goals
I don’t care as long as she keeps winning
Is Quincy Wilson biting off more than he can chew with his bold claims and recent performances?
Yes, he needs to back up his words with wins
No, he’s just having a rough patch
Maybe, but he has the potential to bounce back
It’s too early to judge his career
Whats your Perspective on:
Is Masai Russell’s decision to skip the World Championships a smart move or a missed opportunity?
Have an interesting take?
Join The Debate
Focus on training and ignore the noise
Use criticism as motivation to improve
Take a break and reassess his strategy
Engage with fans to explain his perspective
How do you feel about Jordan Chiles’ ability to bounce back after a fall during a high-stakes match?
Incredibly inspiring, she’s a true fighter
It’s expected from an Olympian
Impressive, but she needs to be more consistent
Falls are part of the game, no big deal
What impact do you think Jordan Chiles’ performance has on the UCLA Gymnastics team’s morale?
It boosts the team’s confidence and spirit
It puts pressure on her teammates to perform
It’s a personal achievement, not a team factor
It sets a high standard for everyone
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“That said, as a reigning Olympic gold medalist, I do have to give a shout-out to her for even showing up to run at Indoors at all.”
However, let us have a closer look at the scheduling issue. The social media handles of Grand Slam Track on September 25 last year announced Masai Russell’s name as the signed athlete for the league. Well, the schedule claims that the first installment of GST will come to Kingston, Jamaica, and go on from April 4 to 6. Masai Russell will show up at the event. But what about the World Athletics Indoor Championships in China?
The global contest will go on from March 21 to 23 in Nanjing, China. So, there will be almost a two-week gap between the World Athletics Indoor Championships and GST. Wouldn’t those days have given sufficient rest to an athlete to enter both events? Well, it could be that Russell would want to solely focus on one event.
In GST, the athletes have a contract to appear in each of the four Slams. Each Slam will come with $100,000 in purse for the topper (and the 8 place competitor will earn $10,000). So winning four Slams will allow the Olympian to take $400,000 home, plus will have more viewership. And what about the World Athletics Indoor Championships? A perfect number has yet to come. But it might not touch the amount GST has promised.
But let us look at things a bit deeper. Scheduling seems to be a problem. For instance, the JAAA held strong on the Jamaican National Championships dates from June 26-29, as athletes are also looking forward to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. However, this would cause scheduling conflicts with the Grand Slam.
But coming back to Russell, so far, what we know is the track and field athlete intends to next run the 100 or the 4×1 at Texas Relays and then the Grand Slam in Kingston. Her focus on the outdoor season could signal her interest in building upon her Olympic success. “It’s going to be fun. I mean, I’m not a 100 runner, but maybe it’ll turn into something—who knows? I’m bad, I can hurdle, and I’m fast, so maybe Gail Devers part two.”
But what else is on her plate?
Masai Russell prefers this track and field contest as her second choice
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After the USA Indoor Championships, Masai Russell made another thing clear. In the mixed zone, she said, “I just think it’s going to set me up really great for the outdoor season because the season is very long this year, ends in September, so I want to make sure that I am ready to run, my mindset is there. And you know, my compass is still going into the world outdoors.”
However, it wasn’t the first time she said that. Right after defeating the world indoor champion Grace Stark by clocking 7.76 in the Millrose Games this year, she had hinted at it. What was it?
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Masai Russell is looking forward to entering the World Athletics Championships in Japan, scheduled in September this year.
via Reuters
After winning the Olympic and the national titles, she is yearning to carve her name in the world championship. Eyeing that, she told Citius Mag, “World indoors is very close to the first Grand Slam, so for me personally you know the goal is September.”
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Moreover, she added, “I’m going to do US championships. That’ll be my last in season.” From that perspective, Masai Russell is advancing on the right path. She has set benchmarks in the indoor events. For now, the rest of the route is about to cover the outdoor ones. And we are looking forward to it.
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