Amusan Officially Loses 100m Hurdles World Record To Russell

Tobi Amusan has officially lost her women’s 100m hurdles world record after World Athletics ratified the 12.09 seconds clocked by American Olympic champion Masai Russell at the Weltklasse Diamond League meeting in Zurich on August 27.

Russell’s performance, which came four years after Amusan set the previous record, took 0.03 seconds off the Nigerian’s 12.12 mark established at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon on July 24, 2022.

The Nigerian was also in action in Zurich, finishing second behind Russell in 12.23 seconds as the American produced a flawless run over the barriers to make history.

World Athletics announced the ratification of Russell’s record alongside three other world records set during the 2026 season.

Brazil’s Alison dos Santos also made history in Zurich, clocking 45.80 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles to erase the 45.94 world record set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo Olympic Games on August 3, 2021.

Warholm finished a distant second in 46.69 seconds.

Great Britain’s Josh Kerr had earlier broken the men’s mile world record, running 3:42.66 at the Novuna London Athletics Meet, a Wanda Diamond League meeting, on July 18.

Kerr’s time bettered the long-standing 3:43.13 record set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome on July 7, 1999.

The 2023 world 1500m champion reached 400m in 55.3 seconds, 800m in 1:51.1 and 1200m in 2:46.39 before crossing the 1500m mark in 3:27.62 and powering home to set a new global standard.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha completed the list after running 56:51 to set a world half-marathon record at the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires on August 23.

Kejelcha shaved 29 seconds off the previous record of 57:20 set by Kenya’s Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon on March 8, reclaiming a record he had previously held after running 57:30 in Valencia in October 2024.

World Athletics’ ratification means all four performances have now received official recognition as world records.