Alison dos Santos Breaks 400m Hurdles World Record in Zurich

Alison dos Santos set a 400m hurdles world record at the Zurich Diamond League meeting on Thursday, winning in 45.80 seconds. BBC Sport reported that the 26-year-old Brazilian cleared the final hurdle with a decisive advantage and continued strongly through the finish, while previous record-holder Karsten Warholm crossed the line a distant second.

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The performance lowered Warholm’s world record of 45.94 seconds, which had stood since 2021, by 0.14 seconds. It also represented a major improvement on the winner’s own previous best. Dos Santos had entered the meeting with a personal record of 46.29 seconds, set four years earlier, meaning his Zurich run cut 0.49 seconds from that mark.

Dos Santos arrived in Switzerland unbeaten in the 400m hurdles this season, according to the BBC report. Even with that form, the existing world record had appeared secure before the race. His 45.80 changed that assessment on the track and established a new benchmark in an event that had not seen its global standard lowered for five years.

The Brazilian’s result also came after he won silver in Tokyo in 2025, as identified by BBC Sport. In Zurich, the head-to-head with Warholm placed the new record-holder directly against the athlete whose mark he was chasing. The race ended with Dos Santos in front and Warholm unable to match the pace that produced the record.

The record was achieved during a Zurich program that also included anticipated attempts at the two 800m world records. The BBC said Switzerland’s Audrey Werro and Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi were set to pursue those standards later in the meeting. Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis was also competing, with Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis among the athletes expected to challenge him.

Elsewhere at the meeting, Olympic champion Julien Alfred handed Melissa Jefferson-Wooden her first 100m defeat in two years, the BBC reported. Alfred prevailed over the American in a photo finish. British sprinter Amy Hunt, who had won four European Championship gold medals earlier in August, was slow from the blocks and finished behind the leading pair.