PHOTO CREDIT: Photo courtesy of World Athletics / PunchNG
Masai Russell Breaks Tobi Amusan’s 100m Hurdles World Record in Zurich

American Olympic champion Masai Russell has broken the women’s 100m hurdles world record, ending Nigerian star Tobi Amusan’s four-year reign at the top.

Russell clocked a stunning 12.09 seconds at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at the Letzigrund Stadium to shave 0.03 seconds off Amusan’s previous mark of 12.12 seconds.

According to World Athletics, Russell produced a “flawless run” with a legal wind reading of 0.0m/s to become the new world record holder, American record holder, and the fastest woman ever in the event.

In a dramatic twist, Amusan herself was in the race. The Nigerian finished second in 12.23 seconds – her season’s best – while European champion Nadine Visser of the Netherlands came third in 12.34 seconds.

Russell, 26, who was born on June 17, 2000 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has been threatening the record all season. She ran 12.14 seconds in Xiamen, China in May 2026, which was then the second-fastest time in history and an American and Diamond League record.

The new record caps a remarkable rise for the former University of Kentucky star – an 11-time All-American and collegiate record holder (12.36s) – who won Olympic gold in Paris 2024 in 12.33 seconds after winning the US Olympic Trials in 12.25 seconds.

“When I saw 12.09, I got so emotional,” Russell said after the race.

Amusan had set the previous world record of 12.12 seconds (+0.9m/s wind) in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon. She also ran 12.06 seconds in the final that year, but it was not ratified due to excessive wind (+2.5m/s).

With the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels and the World Athletics Ultimate Championship coming up, Russell now has a chance to turn her historic 2026 season – nine wins before Zurich – into an even bigger one.

SOURCE: Punch Newspapers.