Alison dos Santos and Masai Russell break world hurdles records at Zurich Diamond League

Two world records in forty minutes

Athletes set two world records across forty minutes at the Letzigrund Stadium during the Zurich Diamond League on 27 August 2026. Weather conditions in Switzerland remained calm, with temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius and nearly absent wind throughout the programme. Brazil's Alison dos Santos and American hurdler Masai Russell each earned an 80,000 dollar world record bonus for their winning marks. Both athletes improved upon long-standing benchmarks established at global competitions earlier in the decade. Russell noted after her sprint that seeing the Brazilian win moments earlier provided an extra boost of energy before stepping into the blocks.

I had dreamed of this moment. And then hearing the crowd - it's the best place I could have imagined to break the world record.

Dos Santos defeats Warholm in 400m hurdles

In the men's 400-metre hurdles, 26-year-old Alison dos Santos broke clear off the final bend and pulled away over the concluding 100 metres to finish in 45.80 seconds. The result lowered the previous world record of 45.94 seconds, established by Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, by 0.14 seconds. Dos Santos also improved his personal best by nearly half a second while celebrating with a Brazilian flag. Warholm placed second with a time of 46.69 seconds, concluding a season series where Dos Santos defeated him in all five of their head-to-head races. The Norwegian hurdler conceded that he needed to reassess his preparation after falling short of the winning pace.

Honestly, I felt strong... but I can't go out there and run a second faster just because he does. It doesn't work that way. So I have to start from scratch and do something different.

Russell lowers 100m hurdles standard

Olympic champion Masai Russell captured the women's 100-metre hurdles title by accelerating over the final hurdle to cross the finish line in 12.09 seconds. Her winning time improved the previous world mark of 12.12 seconds, set by Nigeria's Tobi Amusan in 2022, by three hundredths of a second. Amusan took second place in Zurich with a time of 12.23 seconds. In the men's hurdles sprint, Austria's Enzo Diessl secured third place in his contest. Russell explained that track conditions were fast and that the electric atmosphere in the arena supported her performance from start to finish.

Sprint and distance track results

Saint Lucia's Olympic champion Julien Alfred won the women's 100 metres in a national record time of 10.70 seconds, edging Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in a photo finish after both runners registered identical times. Sha'Carri Richardson finished third in 10.97 seconds behind the leading duo. In the women's 800 metres, local favourite Audrey Werro ran 1:53.70 to win the race, missing Jarmila Kratochvilova's 43-year-old world record of 1:53.28 by 0.42 seconds. Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi secured the men's 800 metres in 1:41.76, the fastest time in the world this season, holding off Algeria's Djamel Sedjati who finished in 1:41.83. Kenya's Faith Cherotich took the women's 3000-metre steeplechase in 8:55.82, while American Cole Hocker won the men's 1500 metres in 3:31.71.