Brazil’s Alison dos Santos broke the 400m hurdles world record, running 45.80 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland.
Dos Santos broke the world record of 45.94 set by Norwegian Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo Olympics in one of the most memorable performances at those Games across all sports.
Dos Santos believed that he could break the world record based on his most recent race in Poland on Sunday.
“I did everything wrong in Silesia, and I was able to run 46.4,” he said. “We knew doing everything properly, we could break the world record.”
Warholm was in Thursday’s race, taking runner-up in 46.69.
“My first reaction is honestly that I was a bit shocked,” Warholm told Citius Mag. “I didn’t see that coming because we had such a close race just four days ago in Poland. But still, Alison is a great competitor, a really, really fast hurdler. I’ve got to say congratulations and give him the respect that is deserved.”
It was the first of two world records in a 40-minute span in Zurich. American Masai Russell broke the 100m hurdles world record. More on Russell here.
Dos Santos was previously the third-fastest man in history with a personal best of 46.29 seconds from winning the 2022 World title.
The only faster men were Warholm and American Rai Benjamin, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist, whose best time was 46.17 for silver in the Tokyo Olympic final.
Dos Santos took bronze behind Warholm and Benjamin in Tokyo and behind Benjamin and Warholm in Paris.
Dos Santos, Warholm and Benjamin combine to own the 34 fastest times in history in the event. Before they came along, American Kevin Young held the world record of 46.78 for nearly three decades from the 1992 Olympics.
“The memory that I have right now is from Tokyo in 2021,” Dos Santos told Flotrack while trackside minutes after his world record. “I was able to run faster than the previous world record, but I got third (in 46.72). And I promise you, that hurt so bad. I was like, I never want to experience that again, break a world record and not be the first one (to cross the finish line).”
Dos Santos, Warholm and Benjamin are expected to go head-to-head-to-head at the first World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest from Sept. 11-13.
Also Thursday, Olympic gold medalist Julien Alfred ran a personal best to hand world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden her first 100m defeat since the 2024 Paris Games.
Saint Lucia’s Alfred and the American Jefferson-Wooden both ran 10.70 seconds, with Alfred getting the win by five thousandths of a second.
Jefferson-Wooden won 11 consecutive 100m finals since taking bronze at the Paris Olympics behind Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson. Richardson was third in Thursday’s race in 10.97.
All three are expected to be at the World Ultimate Championship.
