Brazilian athlete Alison dos Santos set a new 400m hurdles world record of 45.80 seconds at a Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. The previous best belonged to Norway’s Karsten Warholm, who had run 45.94 at the Tokyo Olympics and finished second in this race.
Dos Santos’s personal best had been 46.29, set when he became world champion in 2022. Until now he was the third-fastest man in history, behind Warholm and the American Rai Benjamin, and had won bronze at the Tokyo and Paris Games.
The Brazilian said that days earlier, in Poland, he had run 46.4 despite making mistakes, which convinced him the record was within reach. Warholm responded sportingly, congratulating his rival and describing him as a great competitor. On the same evening, about 40 minutes later, the American Masai Russell also broke the 100m hurdles world record.
