Elaine Thompson-Herah and Anita Wlodarczyk cemented their status as all-time athletics greats, achieving what no other women had done before, while Athing Mu’s and Mondo Duplantis’s stars continued to rise on a busy Tuesday evening in Tokyo.

It was always going to be difficult to match the excitement of the morning session, but the finals on the fifth day of action at the Tokyo Olympics were certainly not lacking in drama.

Thompson-Herah became the first woman to successfully defend a sprint double at the Olympics. After equalling her PB of 21.66 in the semifinals of the 200m, many fans were keen to see how fast the 29-year-old could go in the final.

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The Jamaican, drawn in lane seven, strode to victory and was never seriously challenged, stopping the clock at 21.53 (0.8m/s) to break Merlene Ottey’s national record.

Following her 10.62 run to win the 100m, Thompson-Herah is now the second-fastest woman in history over both sprint distances.

Namibia’s Christine Mboma came through to take silver in 21.81, breaking her own world U20 record from the semifinals, and USA’s Gabby Thomas took bronze in 21.87.

World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce just missed out on a medal in fourth, clocking 21.94 – the second-fastest time of her long distinguished career.

“It’s been a rough week,” said Thompson-Herah.

“I’m super tired, I hardly slept after the 100m.

“My legs really need a rest now because we ran two rounds of the 200m in one day yesterday, which isn’t normally the case. 

“To run a national record, I’m so, so happy.”