American Olympic champion Masai Russell produced a historic performance at the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League meeting, breaking Tobi Amusan‘s four-year-old 100m hurdles world record with a stunning time of 12.09 seconds.

Russell, 26, delivered one of the defining moments of an extraordinary night at the Letzigrund Stadium, lowering Amusan’s previous world record of 12.12 seconds by three hundredths of a second.

The record-breaking run came in perfect conditions, with the wind reading 0.0m/sec, ensuring Russell’s performance was achieved without any wind assistance.

Russell had been threatening Amusan’s record throughout the season. She had already clocked 12.14 seconds in Xiamen in May, the second-fastest time ever recorded in the event, and appeared increasingly close to finally breaking the Nigerian’s long-standing mark.

This time, she delivered.

Amusan, who had held the world record since her historic run at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, finished second in Zurich with a season-best 12.23 seconds.

European champion Nadine Visser completed the podium in third after also recording a season-best 12.34 seconds.

Russell’s new mark also set Diamond League and meeting records, surpassing Amusan’s previous meeting record of 12.29 seconds, which she ran in Zurich in 2022.

For Amusan, the night represented the end of a remarkable four-year reign at the top of the women’s 100m hurdles. Her 12.12-second world record in Eugene had made her the first Nigerian athlete to set an individual senior athletics world record, cementing her place among the greatest hurdlers in history.

At the 2026 Weltklasse Zürich meeting, however, Russell finally succeeded where others had come close.

The American had spoken confidently about her chances of eventually breaking the record after her impressive performance in Xiamen earlier in the season.

“I’ve been saying all year that I’m going to break the world record,” Russell said after that race. “I don’t know when it’s going to come, but I keep getting closer and closer.”

Her prediction became reality in Zurich.

Russell’s achievement was part of an extraordinary night for world athletics, with another world record falling shortly before the women’s 100m hurdles.

Brazilian Alison dos Santos also produced a historic performance by breaking Karsten Warholm’s 400m hurdles world record at the same meeting.

The double record-breaking night added further significance to an already memorable Diamond League event and placed Russell at the centre of the headlines.

While Russell celebrated a new world record, Amusan’s 12.23 seconds provided a positive response from the Nigerian, who produced her fastest time of the season despite surrendering her place at the top of the all-time list.

Russell now holds the world record at 12.09 seconds, while Amusan begins a new chapter of her career chasing the mark she once set and dominated for four years.

The record may have changed hands in Zurich, but Amusan’s legacy in the 100m hurdles remains firmly established.

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Nigerian hurdler Ezekiel Nathaniel finished third in the men’s 400 metres hurdles at the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League on Thursday, as Brazil’s Alison dos Santos produced a new world record in a historic race.

Dos Santos clocked a sensational 45.80 seconds to win the event and lower the previous world record of 45.94 seconds, set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.

The Brazilian’s performance made him only the second man in history to run the 400m hurdles in under 46 seconds, joining Warholm in the exclusive club.

Warholm, one of the event’s dominant figures, finished second in Zürich in 46.69 seconds, while Nathaniel crossed the line third in 47.50 seconds.

For Nigeria, Nathaniel’s podium finish provides a notable highlight from one of the biggest races of the Diamond League meeting. The Nigerian athlete held his own against two of the most accomplished names in the event as the race produced a new benchmark in the discipline.

Nathaniel has established himself as one of Nigeria’s leading 400m hurdlers and continues to compete at the highest level of international athletics. His third-place finish in Zürich also adds valuable experience as he continues to challenge the leading athletes in the event.

The result places Nathaniel among the competitors behind one of the most significant performances in 400m hurdles history.

Dos Santos’ 45.80 seconds was not only a victory but also a major improvement on Warholm’s previous mark, underlining the increasingly competitive nature of the event.

With Nathaniel recording 47.50 seconds for third place, Nigeria leaves Zürich with a podium finish from one of its leading track athletes, while Dos Santos leaves with a world record that further reshapes the history of the men’s 400m hurdles.

The Zürich Diamond League meeting therefore delivered a memorable night for the event, with a Brazilian world record, a second-place finish for Warholm and a Nigerian podium finish from Nathaniel.

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Nigerian sprinter Udodi Onwuzurike continued his strong run on the European athletics circuit after finishing second in the men’s 200 metres at the Wiesław Maniak Memorial in Szczecin, Poland.

Onwuzurike clocked 20.26 seconds to secure the silver position, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind American Brandon Hicklin, who won the race in 20.24 seconds. Belgium’s Simon Verherstraeten completed the podium in 20.55 seconds.

The race was run into a headwind of 0.8 metres per second, making Onwuzurike’s performance a solid outing against an international field. The official results confirmed the Nigerian finished second in the opening heat, which also served as the overall final.

The result adds another podium finish to Onwuzurike’s 2026 campaign as he continues to compete against some of the leading sprinters on the international circuit.

The Nigerian entered the race with a season’s best of 20.09 seconds and a personal best of 19.76 seconds in the 200m. His 19.76, recorded in 2023, remains one of the fastest times ever recorded by a Nigerian over the distance.

Onwuzurike has already established himself as an important figure in Nigerian athletics.

The 23-year-old first gained wider international attention in 2021 when he won the men’s 200m title at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, becoming Nigeria‘s first winner in the event at that level since 1996.

He has since progressed to senior competition, representing Nigeria at major championships, including the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Onwuzurike advanced to the 200m semi-finals after running 20.27 seconds in the first round before recording 20.26 seconds in the semi-final.

His latest 20.26-second performance in Poland therefore continues a pattern of competitive displays on the international stage.

Although he narrowly missed out on the top position, the Nigerian finished ahead of Verherstraeten, Botswana’s Justice Oratile and several other international competitors.

For Nigerian athletics, Onwuzurike’s continued presence on the European circuit provides another opportunity for the country to remain represented among the leading performers in the men’s sprint events.

The Stanford-trained athlete will now look to build on his latest podium finish as the season progresses, with his focus likely to remain on improving his season’s best and moving closer to his 19.76-second personal best.

For now, Onwuzurike leaves Szczecin with a silver medal and another competitive performance to add to his growing international record.

The Nigerian missed gold by just two hundredths of a second, but his latest European outing shows that he remains firmly in the conversation among Africa’s leading 200m sprinters.

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