Tobi Amusan loses record as Russell runs 12.09 in Diamond League

Tobi Amusan is no longer the women’s 100m hurdles world record holder after Masai Russell ran 12.09 seconds at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Zurich. Russell’s time was 0.03 seconds faster than Amusan’s previous mark of 12.12, set at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, United States.

The record-breaking run came at Zurich’s final regular-season Diamond League meeting. Russell, the Paris Olympic champion, had twice come close to Amusan’s mark earlier this year before finally going faster in Switzerland. Her new record remains subject to ratification by World Athletics.

Amusan finished second in 12.23 seconds, while European champion Nadine Visser took third in 12.34. Visser’s time was a season best. The result leaves Amusan second in the overall 100m hurdles standings, with Russell taking the headline result and the record in the same race.

Amusan’s 12.12 had stood since her run in Eugene in 2022. She had set that mark in the world championship semi-final before winning the final, establishing a record that remained in place until Russell’s performance in Zurich.

Russell’s run was one of two world records set at the meeting. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos opened the record-breaking night by clocking 45.80 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles, taking 0.14 off Karsten Warholm’s previous record from the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

Warholm finished second in 46.69, while dos Santos, the 2022 world champion, claimed the record. The Zurich meeting also saw Julien Alfred beat Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in a photo finish over 100m, with both athletes recording 10.70 seconds, and Kenny Bednarek win the men’s 200m in a world-leading 19.62.