Athletes are constantly pushing the limits of human ability. At the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from July 15 to 24, the limits were stretched again, as three world records were broken.

Date: July 22, 2022

Event: Women's 400m hurdles

New world record: 50.68 seconds 

American Sydney McLaughlin, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist in both the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay event, reset the world record in the women's 400m hurdles with a time of 50.68 seconds.

She lowered her own record from 52.16 to 50.68 in the space of 13 months.

"The sky's the limit, for sure," she said after the race. "I need to ask my coach about our next goal. He calls the shots."

"Whenever I got frustrated," she said, "I'd go to practice and run it out. Get the stress out on the track. I make it look easier than it is. People don't see the struggle."

"For the past couple of years, McLaughlin has lifted herself to a different level. She has repeatedly smashed the world record to smithereens, rendering her rivals – none of them slouches – into background noise as she pushes the boundaries of what seems possible in her profession," New York Times editor Scott Cacciola wrote in a piece published on July 22, 2022.

Date: July 24, 2022

Event: Men's pole vault

New world record: 6.21 meters

Swedish Armand Duplantis, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, smashed his own record in the pole vault event after sailing with ease over 6.21m.

"It is great!" said Duplantis, as he bettered his own mark by one centimeter, which he set during the World Indoor Championships in Serbia's capital Belgrade in March. It marked the third time this year that Duplantis has set a world record and his fifth record-setting jump overall.

"I was really focused on the win and I really wanted to win the gold so badly. It was the medal I was missing," he said.

Date: July 24, 2022

Event: Women's 100m hurdles

New world record: 12.12 seconds

Nigerian Tobi Amusan rocketed to a new world record of 12.12 seconds in Heat 1 of the women's 100m hurdles semifinals.

Later, Amusan continued her triumph in the event and bagged the gold medal in 12.06 seconds. However, her time did not qualify as a new world record because of the tailwind during the race, which cannot exceed 2m/s. 

"The goal was to come out and to win this gold. I just did it," said Amusan. "I believe in my abilities, but I was not expecting a world record at these championships."

Team China at World Athletics Championships

The Chinese delegation was comprised of 53 athletes (23 male and 30 female athletes) competing in 23 events.

Read more:

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China's Feng Bin wins discus throw gold, Liu Shiying eases into javelin throw final

China's Zhu Yaming wins men's triple jump bronze at WCH 2022

Duplantis sets record, Team USA top World Athletics Championships medal table