Masai Russell Breaks Tobi Amusan’s 100m Hurdles World Record
Masai Russell has beaten Tobi Amusan’s world record in the women’s 100m hurdles.
The American Olympic champion clocked 12.09 seconds at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, beating Amusan’s previous world best of 12.12 seconds by 0.03 seconds.
The performance brought to an end Amusan’s four-year stay at the top of the event.
Russell had been closing in on the Nigerian’s record for some time. In May, she ran 12.14 seconds at the Xiamen Diamond League, a time that moved her to second on the all-time list and left her just two hundredths of a second away from Amusan’s mark.
She went a step further in Zurich, producing the 12.09-second run that finally moved her ahead of the Nigerian.
Amusan was also in the Zurich race and finished behind Russell in 12.23 seconds. The result meant the former world record holder was present as her four-year-old mark was broken.
Amusan had established the 12.12-second world record at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where she delivered one of the most extraordinary performances in the history of the event.
The Nigerian shattered Keni Harrison’s previous world record of 12.20 seconds during the semi-finals, lowering the mark by eight hundredths of a second.
She then went on to win the world title later that night, crossing the finish line in 12.06 seconds. Although that time was faster than her world record, it was not ratified as a world record because the tailwind of 2.5 metres per second was above the permitted limit.
Her 12.12-second semi-final time therefore remained the official world record and stood as the benchmark until Russell’s performance in Zurich.
Amusan’s four-year reign was built on a period of sustained dominance that established her as one of Nigeria’s biggest names in athletics. She became the first Nigerian athlete to win a Diamond League trophy in 2021 after taking the 100m hurdles title in Zurich in 12.42 seconds.
That victory also saw her break Glory Alozie’s long-standing African record. She successfully defended the Diamond League title in 2022 and 2023, completing a hat-trick of victories.
Her success was not limited to the Diamond League. Amusan won Commonwealth Games gold in 2018 and retained the title in Birmingham in 2022, where she set a Games Record of 12.30 seconds.
She also maintained an impressive record at the African Games, winning the 100m hurdles title in Brazzaville in 2015, Rabat in 2019 and Accra in 2024. At the 2024 African Games, she also helped Nigeria secure gold in the 4x100m relay.
Meanwhile, Brazilian hurdler Alison dos Santos has produced a stunning performance at the Zurich Diamond League, breaking the men’s 400m hurdles world record.
The 26-year-old entered the race in impressive form and unbeaten in the event this season, but few expected him to challenge Karsten Warholm’s long-standing record of 45.94 seconds, set in 2021.
Dos Santos, however, delivered a remarkable finish to the race. With Warholm trailing in second place, the Brazilian powered over the final hurdle and maintained his momentum down the home straight before stopping the clock at 45.80 seconds.
The performance lowered Warholm’s world record by 0.14 seconds and marked a major breakthrough for Dos Santos.
It was also a huge improvement on his previous personal best of 46.29 seconds, which he had recorded four years earlier.
