American hurdler Russell senses more to come after world record

Sept 3 : Olympic champion Masai Russell says she has unlocked "a new level" after breaking the women's 100 metres hurdles world record last week, warning her rivals that there could be even more to come as she targets victories in Brussels and Budapest.

Russell stunned the athletics world when she clocked 12.09 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich a week ago, taking three hundredths of a second off Nigerian Tobi Amusan's world record of 12.12.

The American will return to action at this weekend's Diamond League Final in Brussels before heading to Budapest for next week's inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

"I still feel like I'm in even better shape than where I was last week. So that's kind of crazy to say," Russell told reporters in a video call on Thursday. "I think I just unlocked a new level. So it'll be interesting to see. It'll be interesting to just continue to dominate."

Far from viewing her world record as a ceiling, Russell believes her best performances may still lie ahead, with her 12.09 run raising the prospect that the once-unthinkable 12-second barrier could eventually fall.

"I think of course the standard that I've set running 12.0 is always a new standard to set. Everything seems impossible until it's done," she said. "I'm not putting a limit on anything. I think that there's still so much room for me to get stronger.

"Even when I was running the 12.09 race, I didn't feel like the hurdles were coming up in a way where I couldn't control it. I do think that there's a little more in there."

CONFIDENT COACH

Her confidence is shared by coach Lonnie Greene, who ha been predicting a world record for years.

"He has been saying 'world record, world record, world record' for literally the last