Born in Manchester, Jamaica,[1] she attended Holmwood Technical High School in Christiana and competed in a variety of track and field events while there.

[4] She was among the contenders in the long jump at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics, but was twenty centimetres off her best in the final and finished in ninth place.

[5] Expanding her oeuvre, in 2010 Russell placed in the top three at the Jamaican High School in the 100 metres hurdles as well as her long jump speciality.

[8] She competed internationally in her fourth different event of the season, choosing the long jump for the 2010 Youth Olympics and placing seventh in the competition.

[3] The 2011 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships was the biggest international event of her season and she finished with a heptathlon silver medal behind Brazil's Tamara de Souza, setting bests in the shot put and 100 metres hurdles along the way.

[15] Having finished her junior career, she gained an athletic scholarship to study at the University of Technology, Jamaica – an institution with a prominent sports programme.

She continued to focus on the 400 m hurdles,[16] setting a new best of 56.30 seconds in 2013, and began training in the event under Stephen Francis at the MVP Track Club.

[19] She was chosen to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (her first senior selection) and she came away with a bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles, finishing behind Spencer and host nation athlete Eilidh Child.