- Swiss athlete takes women’s 100m hurdles gold
Ahead of Monday’s final of the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Swiss athlete Ditaji Kambundji was not even the biggest athletics name in her family nor the star-studded field on parade.
Yet when the race ended, she shocked the athletics world by upstaging many established names to capture gold and shatter her personal best record in the process.
Kambundji, whose sister Mujinga is a double world champion indoors and a global medallist outdoors, had struggled to translate her own indoor form in 2025 to the outdoors.
However, when it mattered, she produced the race of her lifetime to win in a time of 12.24, which was just shy of Yordanka Donkova’s 27-year-old European record but well below the 12.40 Ditaji had run in Rome last year and Zurich this year.
Kambundji had a great start and she crossed the line ahead of Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in second place and United States (US) athlete, Grace Stark, in third position to round off the podium appearance.
Amusan, the world record-holder, had a time of 12.36, which was just a one-hundredth of a second quicker than Stark, whose teammate Russell had to work hard to get through the field to win the third semi-final.
It was indeed a look of utter disbelief amid emotional celebrations by the 23-year-old Swiss, not even tipped among the favourites in the final.
The line-up had the Olympic champion Masai Russell, who had fallen at the last World Championships, but was the fastest woman in the world this year with a 12.17 to put her second on the world all-time list.
Also on parade was Amusan, one woman faster than her this season, as well as Russell’s US teammate Grace Stark, arguably the most consistent sprint hurdler this season, with three Diamond League victories before Tokyo.
Unfortunately, Russell lost her rhythm by hitting a number of hurdles and missed out on the medals in fourth place.
Following her gold medal victory, Kambundji said, “It’s crazy. I knew I had it in me. You could see on my face how happy I was when I realised I won. I thought that I was able to do it, but I was surprised because I knew all the competitors were able to win.
“This is something I have been working for, and to run it in the way I wanted to is special. Getting a personal best is nice, but all that mattered today was the title. It’s amazing to be a world champion.”
It was on the same track that her older sister, who is due to give birth to her first child at the end of November, had competed in a trio of Olympic finals.
And her younger sibling said, “We definitely have a good relationship with this track. I am sure my sister is excited for me. It’s exciting to have her support. I was thinking about her a lot during these days. Our bond is really special. I know she will be thrilled. I am bringing home something really incredible.”
Women’s 100 Metres Hurdles Final
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ditaji KAMBUNDJI | SWITZERLAND | 12.24 |
| 2. | Tobi AMUSAN | NIGERIA | 12.29 |
| 3. | Grace STARK | UNITED STATES | 12.34 |
| 4. | Masai RUSSELL | UNITED STATES | 12.44 |
| 5. | Pia SKRZYSZOWSKA | POLAND | 12.49 |
| 6. | Devynne CHARLTON | BAHRAIN | 12.49 |
| 7. | Danielle WILLIAMS | JAMAICA | 12.53 |
| 8. | Nadine VISSER | NED | 12.56 |
