Masai Russell says she is nearing the 100m hurdles world record
Masai Russell has cut the gap to the hurdles world record to 0.05 seconds and says the bigger breakthrough is mental: trust instead of fear.
Masai Russell has moved within striking distance of the women’s 100m hurdles world record, but the Olympic champion says the bigger change is happening in her head. After a season shaped by fear and self-doubt, Russell said she is finally running with the confidence that has long matched her talent.
Russell set the tone in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16, when she stormed to 12.25 seconds, a world-leading mark and meet record that underlined how sharp she already is early in 2026. The performance came after a 2025 season that never fully settled around her, even though she ran a personal best of 12.17 seconds on May 2, 2025, and finished fourth at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
That 12.17 remains the American record, and it is only 0.05 seconds slower than the world record of 12.12 set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 2022. World Athletics currently lists Russell as No. 4 in the world in the event, a ranking that reflects both her consistency and the depth of the discipline she now has to chase.
Russell’s comments pointed to a shift that matters as much as any technical adjustment. Rather than trying to prove herself to everyone else, she has said she is learning to trust what she already knows about her own ability. In a race decided in hundredths, that kind of mental reset can be decisive. Hurdling rewards rhythm, calm and control as much as raw speed, and Russell’s recent form suggests those pieces are starting to align.
The next test comes fast. She is set to race at the Xiamen Diamond League meet on May 23, where the women’s 100m hurdles field includes world and Olympic champions Ditaji Kambundji, Tobi Amusan, Danielle Williams and Devynne Charlton. World Athletics and the Diamond League have described the event as one of the most competitive on the circuit, and an early-season measure of who is already ready to contend.
Xiamen also sits within a larger lineup that includes Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Ryan Crouser, adding to the sense that this stretch of the Diamond League is becoming a direct comparison session for the year’s best athletes. For Russell, the context is simple: she is no longer talking about whether she belongs among the fastest hurdlers in the world. She is talking about how close she is to a record that now looks within reach.
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