Zurich Electric: Double World Record Night at Weltklasse Meeting

With the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels just one week away and the highly anticipated World Athletics Ultimate Championship on the horizon, the track at the Weltklasse meeting in Zurich became the stage for a historic display of speed and strength on Thursday (27). In a night defined by extraordinary athleticism, two world records were shattered, cementing Zurich’s status as the pinnacle of the regular-season calendar.

The record-breaking spree began with Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and was followed less than 40 minutes later by a masterclass from Masai Russell, as the sport witnessed two of its most iconic barriers fall in a single evening.

Dos Santos and Russell Enter the History Books

Alison dos Santos, the 2022 world champion, produced a breathtaking performance in the men’s 400m hurdles. Challenging global titan Karsten Warholm, the Brazilian made up the stagger by the midway point and never looked back. Crossing the finish line in a staggering 45.80, he shaved 0.14 seconds off the world record previously held by Warholm.

“I have no words to explain what happened other than: I just broke the world record,” a jubilant Dos Santos said after the race. “I’m starting faster, I’m finishing stronger, and that is what I had to do.”

Shortly after, the women’s 100m hurdles saw an equally stunning turn of events. Olympic champion Masai Russell, who had flirted with the world record multiple times this season, finally struck gold. She delivered a flawless race to clock 12.09, shaving 0.03 off the existing world record.

“When I heard that Alison dos Santos had broken the world record, it confirmed the track was hot,” Russell noted. “I got a lot of motivation from him for sure.”

A Night of Near-Misses and Elite Competition

The intensity of the evening extended well beyond the record-breaking sprints. The women’s 800m saw Swiss star Audrey Werro secure a Diamond League record in front of a roaring home crowd with a time of 1:53.70, further cementing her status as a global force.

Meanwhile, the men’s pole vault delivered one of the most high-stakes duels in the history of the event. Mondo Duplantis cleared an outdoor world lead of 6.25m, but not without a fierce challenge from Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who pushed his own limits to set a national record of 6.20m. Both athletes took bold, albeit unsuccessful, attempts at a new world record height of 6.32m, signaling that the ceiling for the discipline continues to rise.

Records Scattered Across the Program

The meet was a showcase of depth, with several other meeting records and world leads falling:

• 400m Hurdles (Women): Anna Cockrell set a world-leading meeting record of 52.13.
• 3000m (Men): Parker Wolfe crushed a 38-year-old meeting record, finishing in 7:27.43.
• 800m (Men): Emmanuel Wanyonyi claimed a world-leading 1:41.76, narrowly edging out Djamel Sedjati.
• 200m (Men): Kenny Bednarek dominated the field with a world-leading 19.62.
• Javelin (Men): Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage delivered a monstrous 92.07m throw in the final round to dominate the competition.

From Julien Alfred’s photo-finish victory in the 100m to Miltiadis Tentoglou’s precision in the long jump, the Weltklasse meeting functioned as a championship final in miniature. As the athletics world turns its gaze toward Brussels, the performances in Zurich leave no doubt: the sport is moving into an era of unprecedented speed and technical mastery.