The 100m hurdles universe has suffered two real shocks in the night. Masai Russell he dazzled at the US Trials, running a imperial 12.25 with 0.7 m/s of favorable wind and thus becoming the fourth athlete in history, behind the Nigerian Tobi Amusan (12.12 world record on 24 July 2022), her compatriot Kendra Harrison (12.20 in 2016) and the Bulgarian Yordanka Donkova (12.21 in 1988).
The 24-year-old had hit the headlines at the last Indoor World Championships, finishing in fourth place in the 60 hurdles with a time of 7.81, but last year she was capable of an authoritative 12.36 in the 100 hurdles and in the heats of these Trials she had expressed herself in 12.35 , before the saber attack that arrived tonight on the Eugene straight.
Masai Russell clearly flies at the top of the seasonal world rankings, three hundredths ahead of Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, who was able to deliver the other impressive performance of the night. The 22-year-old, in fact, has danced a flawless 12.28 (0.5 m/s breeze in her favor) at her Trials held in Kingston and she is also a candidate for the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Behind them is the French Cyréna Samba-Mayela, who had triumphed at the European Championships in Rome with a time of 12.31. The other Americans then joined Alaysha Johnson and Grace Stark, who will fly to France at 12.31 leaving two huge icons like Nia Ali at home (12.37) and Keni Harrison (12.39). World record holder Tobi Amusan is stuck at 12.40, tied with Swiss Ditaji Kambundji.
