TOKYO:

The world championships in Tokyo produced two standout performances from pole vaulter and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Other stars dazzled too in Japan's National Stadium as the USA and Kenya asserted their authority on the track.

Deep into the Tokyo night, Duplantis electrified a packed crowd by setting the 14th world record of his career in an event he has re-defined.

The US-born Swede, one of athletics' genuine superstars, seems to be able to summon up world records at will -- his latest is 6.30 metres.

"I felt the only way to leave Japan was to set the world record," Duplantis said.

His ecstatic celebrations with his competitors, his parents and his girlfriend Desire Inglander, were also fun to watch.

She came, she saw and she duly conquered a new event, nearly breaking a 4

See Full Page