American hurdler and Olympic champion Masai Russell has broken Tobi Amusan’s world record in the women’s 100m hurdles, ending the Nigerian’s four-year reign in the event, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. Russell ran a stunning 12.09 seconds at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, taking three hundredths of a second off Amusan’s previous world record of Read More: https://punchng.com/russell-breaks-amusans-hurdles-record-in-zurich/
**American **hurdler and Olympic champion Masai Russell has broken Tobi Amusan’s world record in the women’s 100m hurdles, ending the Nigerian’s four-year reign in the event, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Russell ran a stunning 12.09 seconds at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, taking three hundredths of a second off Amusan’s previous world record of 12.12 seconds at the Letzigrund Stadium.
The 26-year-old finished ahead of Amusan, who placed second in a season’s best time of 12.23 seconds.
Amusan got off the blocks quickly in the star-studded race, but Russell began to pull away from the 40-metre mark before crossing the line in 12.09 seconds. Nadine Visser took third in a season-best 12.34 seconds.
Before Russell’s record-breaking performance, Amusan had held the world record with a time of 12.12 seconds, which she ran in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA. The Nigerian went on to win the final in 12.06 seconds, but the time did not count as a world record due to excessive tailwind.
Russell had come close to breaking the record earlier this year when she ran 12.14 seconds at the Xiamen Diamond League in May, making her the second-fastest woman ever in the event at the time.
Her 12.09 run in Zurich now makes Russell the world-record holder and gives her two of the three fastest legal times ever recorded in the event.
Both hurdlers will go head-to-head again in a matter of days when the Diamond League Final takes centre stage in Brussels, Belgium, from September 4 to 5.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Alison dos Santos also broke the men’s 400m hurdles world record with an astonishing run.
The 26-year-old had been in excellent form this season and was unbeaten in the event, but there was little to suggest that Karsten Warholm’s 2021 mark of 45.94 seconds was under threat.
However, with Warholm finishing a distant second in 46.69 seconds, Tokyo 2025 silver medallist dos Santos powered through the finish to clock 45.80 seconds.
Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel was third in the race with a time of 47.50 seconds, improving on his fourth-place finish at the Silesia Diamond League last week.
After Zurich, the global athletics calendar will have two major events remaining: the Diamond League Final in Brussels, Belgium, from September 4 to 5, and the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary, later in September.
