Ball in the Family Podcast with Lonzo & Gelo Ball · Betr

Masai Russell Talks Track Journey & Olympic Gold

·43 min·2 clips

Masai Russell describes hearing "the Olympic champion, Masai Rosso" and realizing she won gold.

1. Ball in the Family Podcast with Lonzo & Gelo Ball sits down with Olympic gold medalist Masai Russell to talk about her 100-meter hurdles journey. 2. Russell speaks as the guest and track star, while Lonzo Ball, Gelo Ball, Darren Moore, and Anthony Salazar host the conversation and connect it to basketball culture. 3. The episode asks how Russell went from a difficult pro season to Olympic gold in Paris. 4. Russell says she started track at age eight and that it is the only sport she has ever done competitively. 5. She says she is the middle child in a family of six, with two older brothers, one younger sister, and one younger brother. 6. She explains that her brothers ran track and later played basketball, while she says basketball and she “do not go together.” 7. Russell walks through the recruiting process and names Texas A&M, Georgia, Miami, Tennessee, and Florida as schools she visited. 8. She says she first committed to Tennessee, then followed the coach who moved to Kentucky and offered her a scholarship. 9. Russell says Kentucky became home for college, graduate training, and her current professional base. 10. She describes balancing school with track by taking an easy major and focusing on becoming the best hurdler she could be. 11. Russell says her worst season came after college when she left a contract she did not agree with and spent time unsponsored. 12. She says she hit a barrier in her first outdoor meet after signing with Nike and became scared to hurdle and scared to fall. 13. Russell says the U.S. trials gave her a reset because she treated them as a clean slate after the rough season. 14. She says she won the Olympic trials, ran the fourth-fastest time in history, and became number two all time in America. 15. Russell says she spent two weeks in Paris, detached from social media, and stayed locked in while teammates like Tara Davis competed. 16. She says the Olympic final felt different because she blacked out mentally, told herself the race was “just another race with 10 hurdles,” and ran to the line. 17. Russell describes the interview style as conversational and cross-sport, with frequent basketball comparisons and fan questions. 18. The tone stays relaxed and playful, with jokes about fits, favorite NBA players, and who would win in track events. 19. Track fans, college recruiting followers, and basketball listeners curious about elite sprint mindset. 20. Listeners wanting a purely game-by-game basketball discussion may skip it.

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