Tokyo Olympics 2020: Athletes who broke world records at the Games

World records are bound to break at every Olympics. The greatest athletes across the globe compete at the event and are pushed further and faster to create new records. This year's Olympics was no different. The impact of a year's delay did not hinder the expected performances. The athletes persevered and world records were shattered. While the Indian contingent at the Games returned with seven medals including a historic gold medal for Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw, take a look at the athletes who broke world records at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Aleksandra Miroslaw broke the women's speed climbing world record in the discipline's final round. The Polish climber ascended the 15-meter-high wall in just 6.84 seconds, chopping .12 off the previous mark set by Russian climber Iuliia Kaplina at the European Championships 2020.

Sydney McLaughlin won the 400m hurdles final and claimed the gold. She set a new world record in women's 400m hurdles clocking an impressive 51.46 seconds.

Australia's Olympic victories have been majorly impressive. The country's 4x100m freestyle squad: women's Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris, Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell claimed gold in a world-record time of 3:29.69. They bettered their own world record of 3:30.05 set at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

It was a celebratory event for the ace American swimmer Caeleb Dressel. He won five Olympic gold medals in Tokyo- a feat that only 10 Olympians have accomplished. Along with the win, he achieved a new record. The two-time world champion touched in 49.45 seconds to better his own world best 49.50 that he set at the 2019 world championships.

Changhong Zhang broke the world record to win the shooting gold of the Tokyo Olympics in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions. With 466 points, the Chinese Olympic debutant set a new world record to defeat Russian shooter Sergey Kamenskiy. The result is 0.7 points better than the 465.3 point world record that was set by Haoran Yang in 2018.

Fintan McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan won Ireland's first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a stunning victory in the lightweight men's double sculls. It was the country's first Olympic gold medal since 2012. The duo finished the race in a time of 6:05.33, bettering the previous record of 6:05.36 by South Africa's James Thompson and John Smith.

Team Italy broke their own world record to win Olympic gold in the men's team pursuit. Francesco Lamon, Simone Consonni, Jonathan Milan, Filippo Ganna won a neck-and-neck battle on the track with their blistering time of 3:42.032.

The German quartet of Franziska Brausse, Lisa Brennauer, Lisa Klein and Mieke Kroeger set the world's best time of 4:04.242, which bettered the record they had set the same day at first-round-heat 4 in the women's team pursuit.

Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler emphasised their gold medal favouritism by setting a dramatic world record to book their spot in the final. The rowers set a new world record in the women's pair, getting across the line in 6:47.41. The Kiwi duo stormed to victory in the rowing event and won New Zealand's first Tokyo gold medal in women's pair.