Diamond League results: Alison dos Santos breaks 400m hurdles world record in Zurich

Brazil’s Alison dos Santos smashed the 400m hurdles world record with an astonishing run at the Zurich Diamond League meeting.

The 26-year-old has been in excellent form this season, undefeated in the event, but there was little to suggest that Karsten Warholm’s 2021 mark of 45.94 seconds was under threat.

But, with Warholm a distant second, Tokyo 2025 silver medallist Dos Santos cantered off the final hurdle and pushed through to clock 45.80 seconds.

His previous personal best stood at 46.29 and was set four years ago.

His time augers well for an evening in which Switzerland’s Audrey Werro and Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi are both primed for shots at their respective 800m world records, while competition from Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis could push Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis towards his own pole vault mark.

Amy Hunt, winner of four golds at the European Championships earlier this month, found things tougher against some of the world’s finest 100m runners.

Left in the blocks, the Briton had to watch on as Olympic champion Julian Alfred inflicted Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s first defeat over the distance in two years, edging out the American in a photo finish.