Swiss Kambundji takes shock world 100m hurdles crown

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TOKYO - Switzerlands Ditaji Kambundji stunned a stellar field and herself by winning the womens 100 metres hurdles at the world championships in a national record time of 12.24 seconds on Monday.

The 23-year-old, whose previous personal best was 12.40, clasped her face in disbelief after flashing over the 10 hurdles and crossing the line to become the joint-seventh fastest woman of all time in the event.

Its crazy, said Kambundji. I was giving my all. I tried to focus on myself. I was calm and pretty collected. I knew I had it in me.

You could see on my face how happy I was when I realised I won. I was surprised because I knew all my competitors were able to win. Getting a personal best is nice but all that mattered today was the title.

World record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, the world champion in 2022, took silver in 12.29 and American Grace Stark won bronze in 12.34.

I just wanted to walk away from here with a medal, thats always the goal coming in, said Stark.

Getting on the line with the other great women is amazing. I think its such a great thing happening in our sport and for women because I feel womens sports arent as big.

Olympic champion Masai Russell, the form hurdler of the year, was fourth in 12.44, while twice world champion Danielle Williams finished seventh in 12.53.

Every race is a learning opportunity, said American Russell, who declared this week that she wants to break the 12-second barrier.

The job is not finished here. I am happy with the season I had. I did not get what I wanted from the