USA’s Russell and Brazil’s Dos Santos Break Records at the Diamond League in Zurich

Key Points:

BRAZIL AND USA made the headlines when Alison dos Santos and Masai Russell gave an extraordinary performance in Zurich on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Both of the athletes broke records in hurdles, when Dos Santos timed 45.80 seconds in men’s 400m hurdles and in the later 40 minutes, it was Russell’s turn to make history with 12.09 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles. The world records were broken at the final regular season of the Wanda Diamond League.

See Also: How 2 Men Smashed Through A Marathon Barrier Long Thought Unbreakable

A World Record to Remember by 

The Diamond League on August 27, 2026, was one to remember as United States’s own Masai Russell and Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos set a world record in Zurich. Dos Santos was the first one to mark his record breaking moment after clocking a miraculous 45.80 seconds in the men's 400m hurdles which was enough for him to beat Norway’s Karsten Warholm’s previous mark of 45.94 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He said, “I have been showing great form throughout the season - that I am fast, I am strong.” Warholm came second behind Dos Santos. 

He added, “As soon as I knew I was coming here, I was excited. The weather’s good, the track’s amazing.” 

After 40 minutes in the event, USA’s Russell, the Olympic Champion, timed 12.09 seconds in the women's 100m hurdles to beat Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan’s previous best of 12.12 seconds that she held at the Eugene world championship in 2022. Amusan came second in the League while European champion Nadine Visser settled for third place in a season’s best of 12.34. Russell said, “My start felt really good. As I was approaching the line, I thought, ‘let me actually run through the line this time and see what the time is.’ When I saw 12.09, I got so emotional.”

“I have dreamed about this moment for so long. This is the best place I ever could have imagined to break the world record. When I heard that Alison dos Santos had broken the world record, it confirmed the track was hot. I got a lot of motivation from him for sure.”

See Also: Delhi: 5,000 Join Namo Youth Marathon for Fight Against Drugs

More Athletes Show-Up in the Diamond League

More athletes like Audrey Werro carried on her impressive season with yet another record in women’s 800m. Werro’s win came when she clocked 1:54.75 minutes to level-up her own Diamond League record. Switzerland’s Werro matched on Femke Bol aggressive towards her approach at the beginning, failing to maintain Werro’s pace Femke couldn’t hold firm ahead of her. Werro led the 200 metres and clinched the victory over Femke. Werro’s run gave a future sign to her breaking the world record. Bol held a Dutch record of 1:54.81, better than what she set in Lausanne. Men’s pole vault saw Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis having an impressive pole vault contest that created history. Duplantis broke a world record of 6.25m while Karalis with the best Greek record of 6.00m. 

Anna Cockrell soared with a record of 52.13 seconds in the women’s 400m hurdles. Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi challenged Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati at the men’s 800m hurdles. At the end, it was Wanyonyi who went ahead and won with a 1:41.76 seconds to set a world-leading record. Sri Lanka’s javelin throw athlete Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage came close to breaking a record held for 30 years in javelin throw. It was Anderson Peters, two-time world champion, who launched a 86.93m long throw in the opening round, but Pathirage was able to go further more to a distance of 88.23m in round two. While in an advantage, Pathirage threw to a staggering distance of 92.07m. The event’s numerous standout performances in Zurich gave us a record-breaking night of athletes ready to achieve the heights they deserve.

Suggested Reading: