American hurdler, Masai Russell, has broken Tobi Amusan’s world record in the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 12.09 seconds at the Zurich Diamond League.
The Olympic champion produced a remarkable performance on Thursday to lower Amusan’s four-year-old world record of 12.12 seconds by 0.03 seconds.
Russell’s winning time, achieved with a legal wind reading of 0.0m/s, makes her the new world record holder, American record holder and the fastest woman ever recorded in the event.
Amusan, who held the world record since 2022, finished second in Zurich with a season-best time of 12.23 seconds, while Netherlands’ European champion Nadine Visser came third in 12.34 seconds.
Russell, born on June 17, 2000, in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has risen rapidly to the top of the hurdles event.
She currently ranks No. 1 in the world and won Olympic gold in the 100m hurdles at the Paris 2024 Games.
After seeing the record-breaking time on the scoreboard, Russell said, “When I saw 12.09, I got so emotional.”
Her success comes after an impressive collegiate career at the University of Kentucky, where she became an 11-time All-American.
She competed in the 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles and relay events and set the collegiate 100m hurdles record of 12.36 seconds at the 2023 Texas Relays.
Russell had already shown that Amusan’s record was within her reach earlier this year.
In May, she ran 12.14 seconds in Xiamen, China, becoming the second-fastest woman in history at the time and moving within two hundredths of Amusan’s world record.
She followed that performance with another strong display at the Lausanne Diamond League on August 21, winning in 12.27 seconds for her ninth victory of the season.
A week later in Zurich, she finally surpassed Amusan’s mark.
Amusan had set her 12.12-second world record during the semi-final of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States. She went on to win the world title.
The Nigerian also ran an astonishing 12.06 seconds in the final, but the performance was not eligible for a world record because the tailwind of +2.5m/s exceeded the permitted limit.
Her officially recognised 12.12-second mark remained the world record for more than four years before Russell’s 12.09.
Russell’s latest achievement adds another major milestone to a remarkable career that already includes Olympic gold.
At the 2024 US Olympic Trials, she won the 100m hurdles in 12.25 seconds to qualify for the American team before claiming Olympic glory in Paris.
With the Diamond League Final in Brussels and the World Athletics Ultimate Championship still ahead, Russell now has the opportunity to further strengthen her position as the leading female hurdler in the world.
