Alison dos Santos of Brazil and American sprinter Masai Russell shattered world records in their respective hurdle events on Thursday night at the Weltklasse meeting in Zurich, according to reports from the Associated Press and Diamond League. Competing before a raucous sell-out crowd of 25,000 at the Letzigrund Stadium under still, balmy weather conditions, Dos Santos clocked 45.80 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles to edge past Norway’s Karsten Warholm, while Russell timed 12.09 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles to eclipse the previous mark held by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan.
Alison Dos Santos Shatters 400m Hurdles Mark in Zurich
Brazil’s Alison dos Santos opened the record-breaking sequence at the Diamond League meeting by clocking a sensational 45.80 seconds in the 400m hurdles, according to AP and Diamond League reports. That performance took 0.14 seconds off the previous world record of 45.94 seconds set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm in the final of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Warholm finished a distant second in the Zurich race with a time of 46.69 seconds, according to the Diamond League. After the race, Warholm went over to give Dos Santos a congratulatory hug, telling reporters it is a “crazy event” and that he has to “get back to the drawing board and do something else,” as reported by the AP. Dos Santos earned a cheque for $80,000 for breaking the record, noting that changes to his training helped him start faster and finish stronger.
Masai Russell Captures 100m Hurdles Crown
Less than 40 minutes after the men’s 400m hurdles triumph, United States Olympic champion Masai Russell clocked 12.09 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles, according to the Diamond League. Russell took 0.03 seconds off the previous world record of 12.12 seconds set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan at the Eugene world championships in 2022, per the main source material. Amusan finished second in Zurich with a season’s best of 12.23 seconds, while European champion Nadine Visser placed third in 12.34 seconds, according to the Diamond League. Russell also collected a cheque for $80,000 for her record-breaking run, telling the AP that hearing about Dos Santos’s performance earlier in the evening provided extra motivation because she knew “the track was hot.”
Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis Excel in Pole Vault Showdown
The world-record evening was punctuated by a scintillating pole vault competition won by double Olympic and triple world champion Mondo Duplantis, according to the main source material. The US-born Swede came under real pressure from Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis, who vaulted a personal best of 6.20 meters, according to the Diamond League. Duplantis cleared an outdoor world lead of 6.25 meters for the victory. Both athletes subsequently attempted a possible world record height of 6.32 meters, marking the first time in vaulting history that two athletes went beyond the 6.20-meter mark in the same competition, as reported in the main source.
Audrey Werro and Emmanuel Wanyonyi Deliver Fast Times in 800m
Switzerland’s Audrey Werro registered the third-fastest time ever in the women’s 800-meter race, clocking 1:53.70 in front of her home crowd, according to the main source material. Werro’s time improved her own Diamond League record, world lead, and meeting record by 0.10 seconds, drawing her closer to Jarmila Kratochvilova’s Cold War world record of 1:53.28, per Diamond League reports. Femke Broeders-Bol finished second in 1:54.71, setting a Dutch record. In the men’s 800 meters, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi held off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati in a nail-biting finish, timing a world lead of 1:41.76 to take the win, with Sedjati just 0.07 seconds behind, according to the main source.
Did you know? Alison dos Santos and Masai Russell each earned a cheque each for $80,000 for breaking their respective world records at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, according to the main source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who broke world records at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich?
According to the Associated Press and Diamond League, Brazil’s Alison dos Santos broke the men’s 400m hurdles world record with a time of 45.80 seconds, and US hurdler Masai Russell broke the women’s 100m hurdles world record by timing 12.09 seconds.
What time did Alison dos Santos run in the 400m hurdles?
Alison dos Santos clocked 45.80 seconds, breaking Karsten Warholm’s previous mark of 45.94 seconds from the Tokyo Olympics, according to the Diamond League.
How much prize money did the world record breakers receive in Zurich?
Both Alison dos Santos and Masai Russell left Zurich with a cheque each for $80,000 for breaking their respective world records, according to the main source.
What height did Mondo Duplantis clear to win the pole vault?
Mondo Duplantis cleared an outdoor world lead of 6.25 meters to win the pole vault competition, while runner-up Emmanouil Karalis cleared a personal best of 6.20 meters, according to the main source and the Diamond League.
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