Tobi Amusan loses world record to Masai Russel

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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