American hurdler and Olympic champion Masai Russell has broken Tobi Amusan’s world record in the women’s 100m hurdles, ending the Nigerian’s four-year reign in the event, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Russell ran a stunning 12.09 seconds at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, taking three hundredths of a second off Amusan’s previous world record of 12.12 seconds at the Letzigrund Stadium.
The 26-year-old finished ahead of Amusan, who placed second in a season’s best time of 12.23 seconds.
Amusan got off the blocks quickly in the star-studded race, but Russell began to pull away from the 40-metre mark before crossing the line in 12.09 seconds. Nadine Visser took third in a season-best 12.34 seconds.
Before Russell’s record-breaking performance, Amusan had held the world record with a time of 12.12 seconds, which she ran in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA. The Nigerian went on to win the final in 12.06 seconds, but the time did not count as a world record due to excessive tailwind.
