Masai Russell, an athlete who is part of WWE’s NIL program, has captured Olympic Gold at the ongoing Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. Russell won the medal in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.34 seconds, just 0.01 seconds faster than Cyréna Samba-Mayela of France who took silver. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico took the bronze with a time of 12.36 seconds. This year’s games is Russell’s first time competing at the Summer Olympics.
On Twitter, WWE CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque congratulated Russell on her gold medal-earning performance in her first Olympic Games.
This isn’t the first time that Russell has impressed on the track. Back in January 2023, the 24-year-old set a new collegiate record for the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.75 seconds. This historic victory also gained the attention of WWE’s Chief Content Officer.
WWE NIL Program
The Next-In-Line program was launched in December 2021 with Russell being a part of the inaugural class of signings. The program aims at recruiting and developing college athletes into potential WWE Superstars. Those who join receive access to the WWE Performance Center as well as guidance on how to present themselves as athletes in the media and beyond. Upon graduation, athletes in the NIL program may have the opportunity to sign with WWE as full-time talent, though that is not guaranteed.
WWE’s Olympic Gold Medalists
Should Russell join WWE full-time, she will be the latest Gold Medalist under contract. Three years after winning gold (with a broken freakin’ neck!) in Atlanta, Kurt Angle made his in-ring debut at Survivor Series 1999. Gable Steveson signed with WWE in 2021 mere months after his gold medal win in Tokyo, though he has since been released. Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who also won gold in Tokyo, signed with WWE in 2023 and has reportedly been impressive in her training. Stock made her in-ring debut as Tyra Mae Steele last month at a WWE NXT live event.