Athletics-Brazil's Dos Santos races to world record in 400m hurdles in Zurich

Brazil's Alison dos ​Santos shattered the world ​record in the men's 400 ‌metres ​hurdles at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday.

Dos Santos pulled away from the field over ‌the final 100 metres to cross in 45.80 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 45.94 seconds set by Karsten Warholm of Norway at the 2021 ‌Tokyo Olympics. Warholm finished second, in 46.69.

The 26-year-old Dos Santos has long ‌been one of the few men capable of toppling Warholm's mark, racing to gold at the 2022 world championships and silver in 2025, and capturing Olympic bronze ⁠in ​both 2021 and ⁠2024. On Thursday, when most of the world-record conversation was around potential history in the ⁠women's 800 metres in the evening, the Brazilian took off at a blistering ​pace, and was well ahead of Warholm coming off the final ⁠bend.

Dos Santos has enjoyed the upper hand in their rivalry this season, winning all ⁠five ​of their head-to-head races. Saint Lucia's Olympic champion Julien Alfred blazed to a national record of 10.70 to win the women's 100m, in ⁠a statement run ahead of next month's World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ⁠also crossed ⁠in 10.70 in a result determined by a photo finish, while American teammate Sha'Carri Richardson was third in ‌10.97.