Faith Kipyegon made history at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence on Friday, as she smashed the 1500m world record with 3:49.11.
There were also standout victories for Fred Kerley in the 100m and Andy Diaz Hernandez in the triple jump, while Italian stars Leonardo Fabbri and Larissa Iapichino delivered home victories in the shot put and long jump.
But the night belonged squarely to Kenya's Kipyegon, who cemented her status as the greatest 1500m runner of all time with a breathtaking performance.
Kipyegon's time, which is this week's OMEGA Moment of the Meeting, was almost a full second faster than the previous world record, set by Genzebe Dibaba at the Monaco Diamond League in 2015.
The Kenyan had come agonisingly close to breaking the record in Monaco last year, but she said it was still a surprise to do so so early in the season. "I didn't expect to break the world record so early in the season, it came as a surprise. But I knew everything was possible," she said.
Already far ahead of the rest of the field at the bell, Kipyegon surged ahead of the wavelight marking Dibaba's time in the final lap, crossing the finish line with a second to spare and collapsing on the track.
"The crowd was really nice, the fans were cheering. That's why I was pushing those last few hundred metres, knowing that I had left the wavelight behind. I was just focusing on that finish line," she said.
The two-time Olympic and world champion can now focus on retaining her world title in Budapest, as well as aiming for a third successive Diamond Trophy in the rest of the Diamond League season.
