Dos Santos and Russell Set World Records at Zurich Diamond League
| Men's 400m Hurdles Record | Alison dos Santos ran 45.80 seconds, surpassing Karsten Warholm's 45.94 mark. |
|---|---|
| Women's Hurdles Record | Masai Russell set a new record of 12.09 seconds, breaking Tobi Amusan's 12.12 mark. |
| Pole Vault Milestone | Armand Duplantis won with 6.25m as two vaulters cleared 6.20m in the same event for the first time. |
| Record Bonuses | Dos Santos and Russell each received $80,000 for breaking world records. |
Brazilian hurdler Alison dos Santos and American sprinter Masai Russell both set world records at the Diamond League track and field meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday. The event, held in front of a sellout crowd of 25,000 spectators at the Letzigrund Stadium, featured several historic performances across track and field disciplines during the penultimate meet of the season.
Dos Santos broke the world record in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 45.80 seconds. The time eclipsed the previous mark of 45.94 seconds recorded by Norway’s Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Warholm finished second in Thursday’s race. Russell achieved her world record in the women’s hurdles event with a time of 12.09 seconds, surpassing the former record of 12.12 seconds set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. Both athletes received individual cash awards of $80,000 for breaking the world marks.
In the men’s pole vault, Swedish double Olympic champion Armand Duplantis secured victory by clearing 6.25 meters. Greek vaulter Emmanouil Karalis finished second after setting a personal best of 6.20 meters, marking the first competition in history where two athletes cleared 6.20 meters or higher. Both competitors subsequently attempted to clear 6.32 meters, which would have established a new world record, though neither succeeded. Karalis remarked afterwards, “It’s not every day two people go for the world record, so that was nuts.”
Local runner Audrey Werro highlighted the track action in the women’s 800 meters. The 22-year-old Swiss athlete won the race in 1:53.70, recording the third-fastest time in history over the distance. Netherlands athlete Femke Broeders-Bol placed second. In the men’s 800 meters, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi claimed victory with a world-leading time of 1:41.76, holding off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati by 0.07 seconds.
United States athletes claimed several victories across other track events. Cole Hocker won the men’s 1,500 meters in 3:31.71, beating Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech, while Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen placed fifth in his continued return from Achilles tendon surgery. Kenny Bednarek recorded a world-leading 19.62 seconds to win the men’s 200 meters. Parker Wolfe established a new meet record in the men’s 3,000 meters, winning in a personal best time of 7:27.43 to beat Said Aouita’s 1986 mark. Anna Cockrell set a meet record of 52.13 seconds in the women’s 400-meter hurdles ahead of teammate Dalilah Muhammad, while Australian high jumper Nicola Olyslagers cleared 2.02 meters to win her event with a season’s best performance.
Background
The Diamond League is an annual global series of elite track and field competitions organized by World Athletics. The Zurich meeting, held annually at the Letzigrund Stadium, serves as one of the final stops on the circuit before the season-ending finals.
World record performances in athletics qualify competitors for financial bonuses awarded by event organizers and governing bodies, alongside standard prize money for finishing positions.
Leave a Reply