World Athletics Championships: USA's Dalilah Muhammad snaps 400m hurdles world record to clinch gold

American track and field athlete Dalilah Muhammad has bagged a gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 after breaking her own world record in the thrilling final of a 400-meter hurdle event. 

The 29-year-old circled the track in 52.16 seconds to take the top honours at Khalifa International Stadium on Friday night. En route to her win, she broke her own world record of 52.16 which she had set earlier this year by .04 seconds.

Muhammad kicked off the summit showdown of the 400-m hurdle event on high as she began to edge her teammate Sydney McLaughlin on the top bend. However, McLaughlin rallied back and levelled through Muhammad in the first 200m.

At one point, it seemed that McLaughlin would edge past Muhammad but the latter held her nerves to eventually emerge victorious. McLaughlin finished at the second spot with a personal best timings of 52.23 seconds. 

Meanwhile, Rushell Clayton of Jamaica was third best with a timings of 53.74.

The victory also saw Muhammad earn a $100,000 performance bonus for setting a world record, the International Association of Athletics Federations confirmed.