Samba-Mayela treats fans to France's 1st medal on the track at these Olympics, Russell wins hurdles

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — The crowd packed the stadium session after session, day after day, and roared for medal winners from everywhere else. They roared for a steeplechaser's proposal and even for a swimmer.

Finally, though, the fans at Stade de France had a reason to erupt for a home-country athlete on the purple track. On Saturday, France won its first track Olympic medal— a silver in the women's 100-meter hurdles from Cyrena Samba-Mayela. The noise made it sound as good as gold.

On the last night of action at the track, American Masai Russell ran 12.33 seconds to hold off Samba-Mayela by 0.01 seconds. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the defending Olympic champion from Puerto Rico, earned the bronze.

It was hard to tell who won at the end by the chants of “Allez Les Bleus” — “Let’s go Blue!” — that filled the air. All the cheers certainly struck Samba-Mayela.

“I was lifted by all these people," she said. “Just a lot of amazing emotions.”

Samba-Mayela became the first French woman to win an Olympic medal in track since 2004. It came after a few close calls, with Clement Ducos (400 hurdles) and Alice Finot (steeplechase) each taking fourth. Finot had a viral moment, though, when she proposed to her boyfriend at the track.

The biggest cheer for a French athlete may have been for swimmer, Léon Marchand, who won a gold medal in the pool on the opening night of the track meet while many in the stands watched him on their phones or tablets.

Samba-Mayela sent them home with a sweet memory.

“I could hear them all screaming my name and ‘Allez Les Bleus.’ It was amazing," Samba-Mayela said. ”It was really lifting me."

Camacho-Quinn, who trains with Samba-Mayela, said she almost had a false start out of the blocks to start the race. That, in her estimation, cost her a chance to win back-to-back Olympic titles.

“Little things like that matter, especially in this type of race,” Camacho-Quinn said.

It opened the door for Russell, who leaned at the finish line to take the win.

“I just want every young girl to understand and know that if you believe in yourself, if you can see the work, day in and day out, there’s nothing that’s impossible for you,” Russell said. “I always tell myself that it’s possible. Can’t no-one take it away from you. This moment today was meant for me. So whatever moment that’s out there that’s meant for them, take advantage of the moment and the opportunity, because it’s meant for you.”

At the beginning of the season, Russell wrote down a list of goals she wanted to accomplish. On there — win an Olympic title.

She can check that one off.

“It was just about remaining focused on what I could do — and honestly, just get over those hurdles and get to the line first,” Russell said.

This will definitely make for great media content for Russell, who, when she's not hurdling, is a social influencer with around a million followers across all her platforms.

“I couldn’t even sleep last night I was tossing and turning. I don’t even know how many hours of sleep I got, because I was just thinking about it,” Russell said of winning a medal. “I was dreaming about it. The fact that it actually happens has meant the world.”

Russell treated herself to a Mercedes for making it to Paris.

Her reward for winning gold?

“Probably a house,” Russell said with a laugh.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games