Masai Russell put a house, car and Olympic gold medal on her 2024 vision board — and then she got them all

Yahoo

19 hours ago

Masai Russell started 2024 doing something she had never done before: creating a vision board. On it, she put a few of her wildest dreams — things like getting a car, buying a house and winning an Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles event. As someone still in the first year of their professional career as a track and field athlete, accomplishing all these goals seemed perhaps a little overly ambitious. But lo and behold, they all came true.
'To look back at what I put in and what I got, it was just like, All right, I need to do this every year,' Russell, who won gold at the 2024 Summer Games, tells me during a conversation for Yahoo Life's OT Diaries.
So what does someone who has achieved that much at 24 years old dream up for the following year? To journal more. To travel to an exotic place. And to — hey, why not? — break the world record in her event. 'I had the world record on my vision board from last year, but I didn't get it,' she says. (But she's close; she holds the second-fastest world record, along with the American record.)
Here she talks about balancing those goals big and small while establishing a name for herself in her sport.
I've always recorded everything that I did ever since I was a kid. And then, of course, the way that social media has kind of transformed is like, everyone is showing people what they're doing, how they're getting ready. And I'm not gonna lie, I just jumped on the train. People kept asking me to show what I'm doing on meet days or race days or even getting ready for practice. So it just started to naturally become a part of my routine.
I'm just glad that people love to see my 'get ready with me' videos because I'm still trying to perfect them and make them look aesthetically pleasing. But it's just fun.
The love for beauty and looking good while competing came from watching my mom. She wasn't an athlete, but my mom always dressed up and she always wore big earrings. I know for us as athletes, we can't present ourselves exactly the way we want to on the track because we're running and things can be in the way. I think it was really just my mom who always told me you gotta look good. And then when you look good, you run good and you feel good too.
It has always just been a part of my routine. Like, I couldn't even imagine competing with a bare face — not to knock anyone who does. But for me, it allows me to step into that competition mode. The only time I really do my makeup, for the most part, is when I am competing. It's not a superstition thing; it's just what I do going into competition.
I've definitely learned to prioritize [sleep] as I transition into the professional space. I always knew I needed more sleep, but I never tracked it. So once I transitioned to being a pro, I made it a point to get a ring to track my sleep, to track what I'm doing, to track how much REM sleep I'm getting.
At the Olympics, I don't know how much sleep I got because my ring died. But it did feel like I didn't sleep at all. … You can have those bumps in the road where you get like four or five, six hours of sleep. But the way that I look at it is: As long as I'm getting seven to eight hours on average, I'm in the green.
I give myself a break when I'm in the offseason. My offseason isn't that long — it's like a month and a half, two months — so I'm going to eat whatever I want to eat in those two months. Once I get into season, I'm not strict but I just like to stay away from fried foods, processed foods.
I don't want to put too much pressure on it because I don't like to overthink it. … I'm just gonna eat clean and then that's just that. And if I want a sweet treat once or twice a month, or maybe once a week, I'm gonna have it. It's just like, I'm just not eating sweets and candy every night.
Honestly, this last month or so, my favorite sweet treat is probably an ice cream sundae or a banana split. That banana with the whipped cream and the hot fudge, it just does something to me.
Wednesdays are my recovery days. And for me, self-care is top tier. So I definitely get a good massage, sometimes get my toes and nails done. Sometimes I get my hair done … just giving back to myself and pouring back into my life.
I also love to fish. That's become a new hobby of mine with my boyfriend. It's really peaceful, it's quiet. You can just hear the birds, hear the trees, hear the wind. It just allows me to get back into my zen and detach from the world.
My dad definitely planted the seed. [He] was the one that just put that spark in my brain to really show the importance of recovery, to show the importance of taking care of your body.
I'll do an ice bath, sauna, yoga and Pilates. Those are my four things I like to do. … Pilates because it just helps with active recovery, functional movements, opening up those tight areas, stretching. Doing things that aren't always so forceful on the body, but can help the body long term. I'm not really a fan of yoga, but I know that it's helpful for you. So I've tried to dabble a little more into yoga for even just my mind, just detaching once again and actively recovering the body.
Probably my boyfriend, Robbie [Springfield].
Definitely Dance Moms.
Probably a hot fudge sundae or a Pizookie from BJs.
Just not living up to who I believe that I am.
A lot of things, honestly. People chewing gum and then putting it on a plate. Like, wrap that up, please.
Something that I drink every day is definitely water, of course. And then something that I eat every day is definitely eggs. Eggs for breakfast. That's how you get that protein.
Probably just being on TikTok and then going to someone's page and then going to the next person's page and going to the next person's page …
Probably my wallet so that I can swipe this [credit] card. You know, the lip gloss is always going to be in there, but I can't do nothing with lip gloss if I don't have my phone with the Apple Pay or my wallet with the credit cards.
Drake's newest album, I've been tapping in with that.
Cold plunge and saunas. I think those are really important for the body. They just do a lot with sleep recovery, cardiovascular health, you know, the whole nine [yards].
I am probably best at telling people what to do. I mean, I wouldn't say that I'm bossy, but I'm very much a girl that knows what she wants.
Fishing. … I'm good. Like, I could catch a fish, but I want to get to a point where I'm just catching multiple [fish].
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.