Masai Russell wins Olympic women's 100m hurdles gold in photo finish

Masai Russell from the United States triumphed in the Olympic women's 100m hurdles on Saturday, narrowly defeating France's Cyrena Samba-Mayela in a closely contested photo finish.

Russell completed the race in 12.33 seconds, securing the gold medal by a mere fraction ahead of Samba-Mayela, who earned the host nation's inaugural athletics medal of the games with a time of 12.34 seconds.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico claimed the bronze medal, finishing in 12.36 seconds.

In an exhilarating final held at the Stade de France, it appeared that Samba-Mayela might have achieved a remarkable victory as she crossed the finish line almost simultaneously with Russell.

However, after a brief pause for review, the victory was awarded to Russell by the narrowest of margins over the French athlete.

The announcement of Samba-Mayela's silver medal elicited one of the loudest cheers of the week from the enthusiastic Parisian audience.

Russell was part of a strong US team in the final, which included her fellow countrywomen Alaysha Thompson and collegiate champion Grace Stark.

Unfortunately, Thompson's bid for the title was hindered when she clipped a hurdle during the race, resulting in a three-way contest for gold among Russell, Samba-Mayela, and Camacho-Quinn.