Masai Russell Breaks 100m Hurdles World Record

American athlete Masai Russell has set a new world record in the 100m hurdles, adding this achievement to her Olympic gold medal in the event. She clocked 12.09 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland. This breaks the previous world record by three hundredths of a second, set by Nigerian Tobi Amusan at the 2022 World Championships.

Amusan finished second in the Zurich race, recording a time of 12.23 seconds. Russell’s remarkable performance further cements her status, as she previously ran the second- and third-fastest times in history behind Amusan’s record in May 2026 (12.14 seconds) and May 2025 (12.17 seconds). Additionally, she achieved the joint-fourth-fastest time in history in August 2025 with a time of 12.19 seconds.

Following her record-breaking run, Russell celebrated by gesturing a shushing motion. She addressed her critics, saying, “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 accomplishment is especially noteworthy as the race had zero wind conditions. Although Amusan holds the fastest time in history with a 12.06-second finish at the 2022 Worlds, that performance was aided by a tailwind exceeding legal limits for record eligibility. Russell commented on her recent achievement, “If we get a 1.9 wind behind my back, that could have been a sub-12 race. Everything that I’ve said that I wanted to do has come to fruition, so why not say I think I can be the first one to run sub-12?”

Russell’s victory marks her as the first woman since Bulgarian Yordanka Donkova to combine Olympic gold with a world record in the event. Donkova won Olympic gold in 1988 and held the world record from 1988 until it was broken by American Keni Harrison in 2016. Alongside Harrison, Russell is one of only two U.S. women to hold the 100m hurdles world record. On the men’s side, Ja’Kobe Tharp is the only American to hold a world record in an individual running event included in the Olympic program.