The Letzigrund stadium in Zurich witnessed a legendary night of athletics during the Diamond League meeting on Thursday, August 27, 2026, featuring two world records and a historic pole vault competition, according to reports from Le Monde. Competing in ideal weather conditions with temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius and virtually no wind, athletes delivered a series of extraordinary performances.
Alison Dos Santos Shatters 400m Hurdles World Record
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos opened the meeting with an unexpected milestone by breaking the men’s 400-meter hurdles world record. According to Le Monde, the 26-year-old clocked 45.80 seconds, erasing the previous mark of 45.94 seconds set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Dos Santos improved the record by 14 centiseconds, leaving Warholm—who finished second in 46.69 seconds—trailing from the start.
Warholm, a triple world champion and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist, has now lost all four of his direct head-to-head encounters against Dos Santos this season. “The crowd and atmosphere were perfect,” Dos Santos said after the race, as reported by Le Monde. “I think this evening was extraordinary. I hope Brazil stopped to watch this as much as the people here in the stadium. I have no words to explain what happened, other than that I just broke the world record.”
Masai Russell Claims 100m Hurdles World Record
Roughly forty minutes after the opening track sensation, American Masai Russell electrified the crowd by breaking the women’s 100-meter hurdles world record, as detailed by Le Monde. Running with a zero wind reading on the straightaway, Russell crossed the finish line in 12.09 seconds, clipping three hundredths of a second off the previous record.
The previous standard had stood since the final of the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan secured the gold medal. “I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long,” Russell said following her victory, according to Le Monde.
Armand Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis Make Pole Vault History
The field events produced an unprecedented co-performance in the men’s pole vault. According to Le Monde, it marked the first time in the history of the discipline that two men cleared 6.20 meters or higher in the same competition.
Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis cleared 6.20 meters on his first attempt, establishing a new personal best by three centimeters and pushing Sweden’s Armand Duplantis. Duplantis, after passing at 6.20 meters, cleared 6.25 meters on his first try to take the lead. Both athletes subsequently attacked 6.32 meters—one centimeter higher than Duplantis’s world record of 6.31 meters achieved indoors in Uppsala on March 12, 2026—but both failed on three attempts.
Additional Highlights on the Track
The meeting also featured a high-speed women’s 800-meter race. According to Le Monde, Switzerland’s Audrey Werro moved closer to the long-standing women’s 800-meter world record held by Czechoslovakia’s Jarmila Kratochvílová.
Athletes will now look ahead to the remaining fixtures on the calendar, including the Diamond League final in Brussels and the Ultimate championships in Budapest.
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