Russell and Dos Santos smash world records in Zurich
American Masai Russell and Brazil's Alison Dos Santos each broke a world record at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, with Russell clocking 12.09 seconds in the 100m hurdles and Dos Santos 45.80 in the 400m hurdles. The pair earned $80,000 each on a sell-out night that athletes and officials called "crazy."
Two global marks fell within roughly 40 minutes at Letzigrund Stadium, where 25,000 fans packed the stands in still, balmy conditions. For a sport that often saves its biggest moments for championships, the penultimate Diamond League meet of 2026 delivered championship-level drama on a Thursday in Switzerland.
Key Takeaways
- Russell ran 12.09 in the 100m hurdles, beating Tobi Amusan's 12.12 from the 2022 World Championships.
- Dos Santos clocked 45.80 in the 400m hurdles, lowering Karsten Warholm's 45.94 Olympic mark.
- Each record-breaker received an $80,000 bonus cheque from the meet.
- Armand "Mondo" Duplantis won a historic pole vault duel, clearing 6.25m as two vaulters went beyond 6.20m for the first time.
- Swiss star Audrey Werro ran the third-fastest women's 800m in history at 1:53.70.
What world records were broken in Zurich?
Dos Santos struck first. The Brazilian ran 45.80 seconds in the 400m hurdles, shaving 0.14 off Warholm's previous best of 45.94 set when he won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Warholm finished second and called their event a "crazy" discipline.
Russell followed with the second world record of the evening. The Olympic champion from the United States ran 12.09 in the 100m hurdles, taking three hundredths off Amusan's 12.12 from Eugene in 2022. Amusan was runner-up in 12.23. Russell's mark came with zero wind, making it fully eligible under world record rules.
How did Masai Russell respond to her doubters?
When Russell crossed the line, she held an index finger to her closed mouth in a shushing gesture. She later said she had bookmarked social media posts predicting her personal best would never dip below 12.14.
"People were like, 'Masai's PB by the end of her career's going to be 12.14,'" Russell told reporters. "I bookmarked that. I can't wait to quote-tweet that because I'm just like, y'all really doubted me?" She added that with a legal tailwind she believes a sub-12 race is possible.
Russell is the first woman to pair Olympic gold with a world record in the 100m hurdles since Bulgaria's Yordanka Donkova in 1988. She and Keni Harrison remain the only American women to hold the mark.
What else made the Zurich night so remarkable?
Duplantis cleared 6.25m to win the pole vault after Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis set a personal best of 6.20m. Both then attempted a possible world record at 6.32m. It was the first time two vaulters had gone beyond 6.20m in the same competition.
Werro thrilled the home crowd with 1:53.70 in the women's 800m, just 0.42 seconds off Jarmila Kratochvilova's 1983 world record. Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi won a tight men's 800m in a world-leading 1:41.76, with Algeria's Djamel Sedjati just 0.07 behind.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, watching from the stands, joked that he "expect[s] the Olympic Games in two hours" given the quality on display. For more offbeat sporting moments from around the globe, see our Bizarre World coverage.
Full results and reaction are available from The Guardian.