American Masai Russell wins Diamond League title, Amusan finishes fourth

American hurdler Masai Russell won the Diamond League title in the women’s 100m hurdles. She set a meet record of 12.20 seconds at the Brussels final on Saturday. Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan came in fourth place.

Amusan finished the race in 12.54 seconds. She was behind Russell’s training partners, Devynne Charlton from the Bahamas and Jamaica’s Megan Simmonds. Charlton set a new national record with a time of 12.33 seconds for second place. Simmonds achieved her season’s best with 12.43 seconds for third place.

This race was one of the highlights of the Diamond League finale. Russell was competing for the first time since taking the world record from Amusan. Earlier, Russell ran 12.09 seconds in Zurich, breaking Amusan’s previous record by three-hundredths of a second. She became the first woman to run under 12 seconds in this event.

Charlton, the world indoor champion from Bahamas, and Dutch hurdler Nadine Visser were also strong competitors. They faced off against Amusan, who wanted to get back to the top of the event.

Amusan prepared for the final by winning the Grand Prix Brescia in Italy on August 31. She clocked 12.56 seconds despite facing a tough headwind. She finished ahead of American hurdler Alaysha Johnson and Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent.

This win came just days after Russell’s world record run in Zurich, where she finished ahead of Amusan. Amusan placed second with her season’s best time of 12.23 seconds.

Amusan is a three-time Diamond League champion. She won the title in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She held the world record for four years after running 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Although she won that final in 12.06 seconds, it did not count as a world record because of too much tailwind.

The 100m hurdles was one of several exciting events at the Diamond League finale in Brussels. The event also featured Olympic champions and world record holders. Winners of events at this competition earned automatic qualification for next week’s 10 million dollar World Athletics Ultimate Championship.