PARIS: Masai Russell of the United States snatched victory in the Olympic women's 100m hurdles on Saturday, edging out France's Cyrena Samba-Mayela in a photo finish.
Russell won in 12.33sec to take gold, just a whisker ahead of Samba-Mayela, who clinched the host nation's first athletics medal of the games in 12.34sec.
Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn took bronze in 12.36sec.
In a thrilling final at the Stade de France, it looked as if home hope Samba-Mayela might have snatched a sensational gold medal after crossing the finish line neck-and-neck with Russell.
But after a brief delay, victory was awarded to Russell by the finest of margins ahead of the Frenchwoman.
Confirmation of Samba-Mayela's silver nevertheless drew one of the loudest roars of the week from the Parisian crowd.
For Russell, the gold was reward for hours of practice spent leaning for the line.
"I knew it was going to come down to a dive," the 24-year-old American said.
"I didn't see anybody, I was just leaning. And I outleaned her bv a 100th of a second. I knew it was going to come down to that.
"So the fact that I was that close between a gold and a silver – I'm glad I did. I take a lot of pride on my last five hurdles – I know a lot of people can't compete with me on the back end.
"Me and my coach have practiced that all the time – so it ended up paying off."
Russell said she had been determined to be a part of the USA gold medal rush at these Olympics after seeing so many of her team-mates enjoy success this week.
"Honestly seeing everyone else on Team USA do their thing I was like 'Yeah, I need to get a taste of that'," said Russell, who qualified for last year's World Championships in Budapest but failed to make the final.
"Last year in Budapest I didn't make it through the semi-finals, I fell – but I always knew I had the talent," she said.
Russell led a powerful US contingent into Saturday's final alongside compatriots Alaysha Johnson and US collegiate champion Grace Stark.
But Johnson's challenge faltered after she clipped a hurdle mid-race, leaving a three-way battle for gold with Russell, Samba-Mayela and Camacho-Quinn. - AFP PIC