Amusan misses podium as Russell wins Diamond League crown

American hurdler Masai Russell claimed the Diamond League title in the women’s 100m hurdles after clocking a meet record of 12.20 seconds at the Brussels final on Saturday, with Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan settling for fourth place.

Amusan finished in 12.54 seconds, behind Russell’s training partners Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, who lowered her national record to 12.33 seconds to take second, and Jamaica’s Megan Simmonds, who clocked a season’s best of 12.43 seconds for third.

The race had been billed as one of the highlights of the Diamond League finale, with Russell competing for the first time since taking the world record away from Amusan.

Russell had run 12.09 seconds in Zurich to lower the Nigerian’s previous mark by three-hundredths of a second, becoming the first woman to break the 12-second barrier in the event.

Bahamas world indoor champion Charlton and Dutch hurdler Nadine Visser were also expected to challenge for victory, alongside Amusan, who was determined to reclaim her place at the top of the event.

Amusan had warmed up for the final with victory at the Grand Prix Brescia in Italy on August 31, clocking 12.56 seconds despite a stiff headwind to finish ahead of American hurdler Alaysha Johnson and Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent.

That result came days after Russell’s world record run in Zurich, where the American finished ahead of Amusan, who placed second in a season’s best of 12.23 seconds.

The Nigerian, who is a three-time Diamond League champion, having previously won the title in 2021, 2022 and 2023, had held the world record for four years after running 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She went on to win that final in 12.06 seconds, though the time did not count as a world record because of an excessive tailwind.

The 100m hurdles was one of several standout events at the Diamond League finale in Brussels, which also featured Olympic champions and world record holders across the programme, with automatic qualification for next week’s 10 million dollar World Athletics Ultimate Championship on offer to winners of events contested at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.