American athlete Masai Russell achieved a remarkable feat by setting a world record in the 100m hurdles. Her winning time of 12.09 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland, marked a new record by shaving three hundredths off the previous record held by Nigerian Tobi Amusan from the 2022 World Championships.
Amusan finished second in the race, clocking 12.23 seconds. Russell, a 26-year-old from Washington, D.C., has consistently demonstrated her prowess in track events. She previously ran the second-fastest and third-fastest times in history, beside Amusan’s record, in May 2026 (12.14) and May 2025 (12.17), with an additional remarkable performance in August 2025 (12.19).
Upon completing her record-breaking race, Russell gestured a shushing motion with her finger to indicate calm against online criticism. She later responded, “I see what people say online. People were like, ‘Masai’s PB by the end of her career’s going to be 12.14.’ I bookmarked that. I can’t wait to quote-tweet that because I’m just like, y’all really doubted me? Every time y’all doubt me I just show y’all that I’m not like anybody else.”
Russell’s achievement was all the more impressive as it came with zero wind interference. Amusan still holds the fastest time in all conditions, 12.06 seconds, achieved with a 2.5 meter/second tailwind during the 2022 World Championships, which exceeds the permitted wind limit for official records.
Reflecting on her own performance, Russell mentioned, “If we get a 1.9 wind behind my back, that could have been a sub-12 race. Everything that I’ve said I wanted to do has come into fruition, so why not say I think I can be the first one to run sub-12?”
Russell has made history by being the first woman to pair Olympic gold with a world record in the event since Bulgarian Yordanka Donkova, who achieved these milestones in 1988. Among U.S. athletes, Russell and Keni Harrison are the only women to hold the 100m hurdles world record. Ja’Kobe Tharp stands as the sole American male to hold a world record in an individual running event on the Olympic program.
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