Masai Russell wins the 100m hurdles in Budapest (© Getty Images)
Masai Russell capped a sensational season by winning the 100m hurdles in 12.22 at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26 on Friday (11).
After breaking the world record with 12.09 in Zurich at the end of August, the US Olympic and Diamond League champion lined up as the big favourite to maintain her unbeaten year by clinching the inaugural Ultimate crown in the Hungarian capital.
And she did so, in style. Chasing down her rivals, she strode into the lead with only the final couple of barriers between her and victory. She flowed over them, reaching the finish line in 12.22 (0.1m/s) to win ahead of Nigeria’s former world record-holder Tobi Amusan (12.34) and European champion Nadine Visser (12.39).
It was Russell’s 14th win of the season, and she achieved it in the joint seventh fastest time of her career – a time that only five other athletes in history have ever surpassed.
It was Russell’s ninth race under 12.30 this season.
“When I broke the world record, I said the job wasn't done because I knew we still had last week and then this week to handle and tackle, regardless of that world record,” she said. “The world record is just something to say, but it does not do anything for you in the heat of another race so I am glad I was able to come out here and get the job done. When you have 10 barriers to get over, it is just a different mentality. Once I get to the line, I am like: "I can breathe now".
And the performance held even more significance for Russell, who was unable to finish her semifinal at the World Championships in Budapest in 2023.
“Coming back here after hitting the hurdle in 2023 and now being the Ultimate champion is a way to rewrite the story here,” she added. “I left here very sad three years ago. It was my first World Championships and now to be a record-holder and Olympic champion, with all of these records and accolades, and to do it at the Ultimate Championship on the same track – it just shows all the work. When failure occurs, it is not really a failure, it is just a setback that sets you up to win.”
It was a storming finish that set Russell apart. World indoor record-holder Devynne Charlton got a great start, but Russell gave chase. Charlton then hit the seventh hurdle and couldn’t hold on, eventually finishing fourth.
Russell had earlier won her semifinal in 12.38 ahead of Visser (12.49), while Charlton took the second semifinal in 12.45 from Amusan (12.49).
In a competitive first round, Jamaica’s Danielle Williams – who won the world title in Budapest three years ago – was among those to miss out as she finished fifth in her race in 12.72, while Rayniah Jones was pipped to the last remaining place in the final by only five thousandths of a second as both she and Megan Simmonds clocked 12.54.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
