Masai Russell at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (© Getty Images)
Semifinals: Friday 11 Sep, 20:04
Final: Friday 11 Sep, 21:20
Contenders:
Masai Russell (USA) 🏅💎
Tobi Amusan (NGR)
Devynne Charlton (BAH)
Nadine Visser (NED)
Alaysha Johnson (USA)
Pia Skrzyszowska (POL)
Megan Simmonds (JAM)
Rayniah Jones (USA)
World lead: 12.09 Masai Russell (USA) Zurich, 27 Aug
2026 world list | world rankings
World record: 12.09 Masai Russell (USA) Zurich, 27 Aug 2026
world all-time list | world record progression
- Olympic champion Masai Russell arrives unbeaten in 2026 after breaking the world record and winning her first Diamond League title
- Former world record-holder Tobi Amusan is the second-fastest woman in the world this year with 12.23
- Devynne Charlton pushed Russell in Brussels, while Nadine Visser arrives as European champion
Masai Russell has spent 2026 looking increasingly unbeatable. Now Budapest offers the Olympic champion another chance to add a major title to a season that has already included a world record and a first Diamond League crown.
Russell had threatened Tobi Amusan's world record several times earlier in the year, getting within 0.02 with 12.14 in Xiamen, before finally breaking it in Zurich at the end of August. Her 12.09 took 0.03 off Amusan's four-year-old mark.
Nine days later, she underlined her supremacy by winning the Diamond League Final in Brussels in a meeting record of 12.20. Still unbeaten over the barriers this year, Russell will start as the clear favourite in Budapest – where she has already won this season, clocking 12.33 at the Gyulai Memorial in July.
Amusan remains perhaps the most obvious threat. The 2022 world champion responded to Russell's record-breaking run in Zurich with a season's best of 12.23 – the second-fastest wind-legal performance of her life – making her the second-fastest woman in the world this year.
Devynne Charlton is also arriving in form. The Bahamian won the Commonwealth title in Glasgow and then finished second to Russell in Brussels in a national record of 12.33, having led through much of the race.
Europe's leading challenge is headed by Nadine Visser. The Dutch hurdler won the European title in Birmingham last month, edging Pia Skrzyszowska, and then improved to 12.34 behind Russell and Amusan in Zurich.
Alaysha Johnson has also run 12.38 this season, while Megan Simmonds showed timely form with 12.43 for third at the Diamond League Final.
But all eyes will inevitably be on Russell. Having already taken the event into 12.0 territory, the question in Budapest may be not only whether anyone can beat her, but just how much faster she can go.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
Title key: 🏅 Olympic champion, 🌍 world champion, 💎 Diamond League champion
