Hernández completed the 3.84-kilometre swim in 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 15 seconds, beating the previous women’s world record set by Poland’s Izabela Babica, who swam 3.54 kilometres in Lake Strzeszynskie earlier this year at 4.02°C.

The Chilean swimmer began her attempt at 9:44 a.m., braving icy waters where the feels-like temperature was just 3°C. Her body temperature quickly dropped, and by the time she left the water, she was in hypothermia, with a core temperature of only 31°C.

Her achievement comes only a month after Hernández made headlines with her historic double crossing of the English Channel, swimming for more than 27 continuous hours.

The Ice Mermaid already holds three Guinness World Records: the fastest ice mile and longest swim at Cape Horn in 2022, and two Antarctic records in 2023 for the longest polar swim and as the only woman to complete a 2.5-kilometre swim in Antarctic waters.

Kejelcha, already known for his indoor mile world record set in Boston in 2019, expressed his satisfaction with the victory, stating, “This race wasn't easy. Today I told myself to do it in 57 minutes, and I saw from the clock on the lead car that it was possible, despite the rain. I wanted to break the world record and I'm really happy I did it.”

The 27-year-old Ethiopian also detailed the difficulties he faced during the race. "At 15km, I was confident and I thought I could get the record. But by 18km and 19km, I started to get nervous because the pace changed, so it was a big challenge. The rain and tight turns also made it difficult," he said. Kejelcha added, "The half-marathon world record was my dream and I beat it. I'm very happy."

Kenyans Daniel Mateiko and Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi finished in second and third, clocking 58 minutes 17 seconds and 58 minutes 21 seconds, respectively. Mateiko's time marked a personal best, while Lasoi completed his fifth half-marathon of the season.

The two-time world indoor 3000-metre champion competed in the 10,000-metre final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he finished sixth.

His run in Valencia marked his sixth appearance over the distance.

Assefa had established the earlier record at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, finishing in 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds.

Chepngetich expressed her joy after the race, saying , "I feel so great, I'm proud of myself. This is my dream that has come true… I've fought a lot thinking about the world record, and I have fulfilled it."

Following her record-breaking run, Kenyan President William Ruto took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Chepngetich. He praised the athlete, stating, “I salute Ms Chepngetich for breaking the world record and becoming the first woman in history to break the 2:10:00 barrier.”

Chepngetich’s achievement comes amid a backdrop of scrutiny in Kenyan athletics, following a doping scandal involving 138 Kenyan athletes across various sports between 2004 and August 2018.

When asked if her record might be questioned due to its speed, she responded , “You know people must talk, so I don’t know."

Chepngetich now holds the distinction of being the first woman to run a marathon in under two hours and ten minutes, a feat that will go down as one of the greatest moments in women's marathon history.

Lopez's victory was celebrated in his hometown of Herradura, located in the Pinar del Rio province, 140 kilometres from Havana. The town's residents took the day off to support their local hero, who had honed his wrestling skills on Herradura's dusty streets.

The soon-to-be 42-year-old athlete was cheered on by family members and friends, including his 66-year-old mother, Leonor Nunez.

Leonor Nunez, overwhelmed with emotion, shared her thoughts on her son's achievement. "There are two biggest challenges Mijain had to fight: his weight and his sport. When I saw him beat his weight, I just thought the second thing would be...as he says, he is 'The Invincible,' and no one will beat him," she told AFP.

Nunez also spoke about the unique challenge of facing Yasmani Acosta, a childhood friend who now represents Chile. "I told him that they are both Cuban, but that Yasmani represents Chile. They have been lifelong friends, so he should apologise off the mat, but on the mat, he has to win," she recounted.

Lopez's journey to this historic win came after a three-year absence from the mat due to retirement. He defeated world champion Amin Mirzazadeh in the quarter-finals before facing his “lifelong” friend  Acosta to set the record.

Before his latest triumph, Lopez shared the record of four consecutive gold medals with legendary athletes like Carl Lewis (athletics/long jump), Michael Phelps (swimming/200m medley), Katie Ledecky (swimming/800m freestyle), Al Oerter (athletics/discus), Paul Elvstrom (sailing), and Kaori Icho (wrestling).

“The Giant of Herradura” has only lost one of his 23 Olympic contests. This defeat came in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Athens Games.

In a thrilling final race of the evening, the multiple world and Olympic champion faced strong competition from Australia's Jess Hull, who finished second with a time of 3:50.83. Hull's performance not only earned her a second-place finish but also broke her own Oceanian record, placing her fifth on the world all-time list.

"I knew the world record was possible because I recently ran very fast in Kenya," said Kipyegon, who clocked 3:53.98 at Kenya’s Olympic Trials. "I was coming here to just run my race and to see what shape I’m in to defend my title at the Olympics."

At 30 years old, Kipyegon is expected to bring her exceptional form to the Paris 2024 Olympics later this month, where she is a favourite to win multiple medals.

In 2023, Kipyegon was honoured as one of the World Athletes of the Year after setting world records in three distances during the season, including the 1500m, 5000m, and 1500m.

“Coming into this competition, I had feelings that I could jump 2.07 metres and maybe 2.10 metres,” said Mahuchikh. “Finally I signed Ukraine to the history of world athletics.”

The 22-year-old Ukrainian's remarkable achievement sets the stage for her participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics , where she is expected to be a key contender.

Mahuchikh's performance was nothing short of spectacular, as she outperformed world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers. Both athletes matched each other’s second attempts at 2.01 metres, but after the Australian Olyslagers failed three times at 2.03 metres, Mahuchikh secured victory on her second try.

She then set the Ukrainian record on her second attempt at 2.07 metres before erasing Kostadinova’s long-standing record on her first try at 2.10 metres.

Mahuchikh is expected to carry the hopes of a war-torn Ukraine at the Paris 2024 Olympics after she left her hometown of Dnipro shortly following the Russian invasion.

Despite being away from home, she has remained vocal about the significance of Ukrainian sports in providing hope and inspiration to those fighting for the country's survival.

"We all are fighting for our people, for our soldiers… We should fight in every field to show that Ukraine is strongest," she said in June after successfully defending her European title.

The French capital is preparing for hundreds of thousands of visitors at the 16-day Olympics with the opening ceremony on July 26.

Philippa is an architect working in Margaretting, Essex. She said her motivation for participating was to train herself and she also raised money for a children's charity in the process. Though her fellow runners dropped out due to scorching temperatures and concerns about running across the desert alone, Philippa admitted to feeling anxious but continued.

The Jordan Ultra Challenge, held at the end of April, required competitors to run two marathons in two days. The event organisers confirmed to the BBC that Philippa Morris was the first female to accomplish this challenging feat.

"My experience from day one to day two was very different. I initially embraced the atmosphere a lot and there were more of us running, so you were engaging with people, and I really enjoyed it,” Philippa said .

"A lot of people had got heat stroke or were too anxious about running alone in the desert. The next day I carried a lot of other people's fears and became anxious. It went from complete isolation to people everywhere congratulating me," she added.

Philippa completed the first marathon in six hours and 52 minutes, improving her time by 24 minutes on the second day. Her fundraising efforts have exceeded £2,800 for the Ordinary 2 Extraordinary charity.

The 300m world record was previously held by South African athlete Wayde van Niekerk after he ran 30.81 in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on 28 June 2017.

“He's a brother to me. We share the good vibes. There's no bad energy between us… so thank you (van Niekerk) for always pushing me and telling me not to belittle myself. Thank you so much, mate,” Tebogo is reported by the South African news agency Times Live to have said after he broke the world record set by van Niekerk

Tebego now joins an exclusive list of four athletes in the world to have run under 31 seconds for the discipline. American sprinter Michael Johnson who ran 30.85 in Pretoria to set the 300m world record in 2000, Usain Bolt’s 30.97 in 2010, and Wayde van Niekerk’s 30.81 in 2017.

The young athlete who also won bronze in the 200m race and silver in the 100m event in the 2023 World Athletics Championships will be looking to have a similar impact in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics in July.

Kundananji’s $860,000 transfer move overtook English midfielder Keira Walsh as the most expensive women’s footballer in history after her £400,000 switch from English side Manchester City to Spanish side Barcelona in 2022, BBC reports.

"People in Zambia will be surprised but they will be so happy… I want to give the Bay FC fans what they want - to enjoy the games, to enjoy seeing me playing and scoring," the Zambian footballer told BBC.

“We are delighted to add Racheal to our group. She is a tremendous talent with dynamic attacking qualities and an incredible physical profile who has produced for both club and country. Racheal has composure in front of goal and a natural ability to score with different types of finishes and from various locations. We believe she will continue to grow and develop at our club, showcasing her skillset and adding to the array of exciting attacking talent we have here,” Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton said in a press release .

The forward, who netted 33 goals for Madrid CFF in 43 Liga F matches, signed a four-year deal with the American team that runs through the 2027 season with an option for the 2028 season.

Kundananji competes for Zambia internationally, representing her country in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia.

At the age of 18, Kundananji secured her first professional contract overseas with BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan before moving to Europe. In 2019 and 2020, she contributed to the team's back-to-back league championships. Kundananji participated in the Copperbelt Women's League in Zambia in 2018 for the Ideni Roses, where she scored 21 goals in 18 games to help the team win the league.

The Zambian record holder joins Nigeria striker and six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala. Oshoala joined the club after an impressive stint with the Spanish side Barcelona Women.

Bay Football Club is an American professional women's soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

The club was founded less than a year ago in April 2023 and is expected to make their National Women's Soccer League debut as an expansion team in the 2024 season.

Gbenga Ezekiel broke his record by achieving the most skips in one minute on one leg, an impressive 278 skips, surpassing his previous record of 265. He also set a new record for the most double under skips in one minute on one leg, achieving 144, beating the previous record of 132 set by India’s Himanshu Prajapati in 2021, the Guinness World Records reported.

On the same day, Philip Solomon made his mark by breaking one of Himanshu’s records for the most rope crossovers while skipping on one leg in 30 seconds, achieving an incredible 69 crossovers. Philip also equalled another record for the most rope crossovers while skipping on one leg in 30 seconds blindfolded, achieving 62. These achievements add to Philip's already impressive collection, as he earned his first Guinness World Record title in early 2023 for performing the most skips in 30 seconds on one foot (153).

Dunsin Dubem, the third member of the talented trio, set a new record for the most double under crossovers while skipping in 30 seconds, achieving 78 and surpassing the previous record by five.

The journey to these world records began when Gbenga, Philip, and Dunsin started skipping at the age of 14–15, under the guidance of coach Ukandu Chibuisi in the city of Akure. Their aspirations to participate in the World Jump Rope Championships were hindered by a lack of funds, leading them to focus on breaking Guinness World Records titles instead.

“We decided to focus on breaking as many Guinness World Records titles as we could,” said Philip, highlighting the impact of their coach's advice and training.

Looking ahead, the trio plans to continue their record-breaking journey in 2024. Alongside Coach Chibuisi, they have initiated a programme called "Rope Skipping in My School" to promote the sport of skipping to students in both urban and rural communities in the West African nation, hoping to inspire a new generation of talented rope skippers and future Guinness World Records title holders.

The East African athlete who had never competed at a distance longer than 10km managed to surpass compatriots Dera Dida and Ruti Aga, who were first and second in the previous year.

Aga finished second in 2:18:09, matching her personal best achieved at the Dongying Marathon in October 2023, while Dida was third in 2:19:29, barely five seconds behind her personal best set at the September 2023 Berlin Marathon.

“I was quite afraid of the distance before I ran my first marathon but now, I wonder why,” said Ketema.

The Ethiopian runner now moves to number eight on the world ’s all-time list. Her time ranks third on her nation's all-time list behind training partners, world record-holder Tigist Assefa and world champion Amane Beriso.