Russell Wins First Ultimate 100m Hurdles Title in 12.22

Masai Russell won the women's 100m hurdles at the first World Athletics Ultimate Championship. She crossed the line in 12.22. The American is the first Ultimate champion in the event.

A second-half surge past her training partner

The final ran on Friday 11 September in Budapest, at the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre. Russell found another gear over the closing hurdles. She passed her training partner, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas.

Nigeria's Tobi Amusan took second in 12.34. The Netherlands' Nadine Visser was third in 12.39. Russell had come in as the clear favourite.

Budapest had not been kind to her before. At the 2023 World Championships, her first, she hit a hurdle in the semi-final. Her hopes of victory ended there.

A record streak stretched to 13 meets

The win took Russell's run to 13 straight meets, since she placed fourth at the 2025 World Championships. Two weeks earlier, in Zurich, she broke the world record with 12.09. That took 0.03 seconds off Amusan's old mark of 12.12.

The victory brought a first prize of $150,000, part of a $10 million pool. "I'm still in shock from the season that I've had," she told reporters afterwards. "I'm still in shock from the things that I've manifested and talked about, so it's just a blessing to be back here."

From a fallen hurdle in 2023 to a new title, Russell has made Budapest the mark of her best season.