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ICYMI at Worlds: Allyson Felix becomes worlds' most decorated athlete

Left to right, Aaliyah Brown, Allyson Felix, Morolake Akinosun and Tori Bowie celebrate their gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay final, which put Felix out on her own as the most decorated athlete in World Championships history. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

LONDON -- On a roller coaster of an evening, Allyson Felix's remarkable record might have flown under the radar.

Her gold in the 4x100-meter relay takes her world's medal tally up to 15. Coming into the championship, she was tied with Usain Bolt with 13 and one behind another Jamaican sprint legend, Merlene Ottey, with 14.

Bolt's bronze in the 100 and her third-place finish in the 400 meters saw both join Ottey on the top step, but after Saturday's dramatic meet, she has taken another step up out on her own.

But that's not to say she will celebrate the achievement, as she downplayed the feat while speaking after the 4x100 final.

"I've never been motivated by those records, and I only know them when you guys bring the up," Felix said. "It's an honour, I never take it for granted, it was special and I never look back.

"Tonight was about having a good time. I'm very grateful... but that's not really what drives me."

-- Tom Hamilton


Did you know ... there's an IAAF anthem?

After Sergey Shubenkov became the first Authorised Neutral Athlete to win a medal after getting silver in the 110 meter hurdles on Monday, Maria Lasitskene etched her own name in track and field history by winning gold in the high jump.

The Russian athlete, competing as an ANA, has to fall in line with some strict regulations: She is not allowed to mention Russia or wear anything to link herself with the country of her birth.

Her gold meant we heard the IAAF anthem being played for the first time at a medal ceremony, as she stood alongside silver-medal winning Yuliaa Levchenko and Kamila Licwinko, who took bronze.

For the USA, Vashti Cunningham missed out on a medal, as she finished 10th. But at just 19, she has many years ahead of her. She is no stranger to what it takes to compete at the highest level, as her father is Randall Cunningham, the ex-Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings quarterback.

-- Tom Hamilton


Rooney runs 'worst leg of my life'

Great Britain's 4x400-meter men's relay team scraped through to Sunday's final as a fastest loser in Saturday morning's heats, but it was a turbulent morning for two of their number.

First, Matthew Hudson-Smith -- the European silver medalist over 400 meters -- pulled out at the last moment. Then, late stand-in Martyn Rooney issued an apology for the way in which he ran the final leg.

The turmoil in the British relay squad seems to stem from last year's Olympic final in Rio, where Hudson-Smith was deemed to have stepped outside the changeover lane and the team was disqualified from their heat.

Rooney had said: "We take the mickey out of him [Hudson-Smith] in the relay now -- he knows not to stand anywhere near that line." Maybe the joke is the thing that has crossed the line now.

-- Steven Saunders