Beijing: Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton thrilled the Bird’s Nest stadium crowd with a lung-busting 1,500m race as he broke his own world record to retain his world title on Saturday.

The American threw a season’s best 63.63 metres in the javelin before clocking four minutes, 17.52 seconds in the 1,500m to finish with a new world best total of 9,045 points, eclipsing his previous mark by six points.

Canada’s Damian Warner took silver behind Eaton, posting a national record of 8,695 points and German Rico Freimuth the bronze with a personal best of 8,561.

Eaton led from wire to wire after running 10.23 in the opening 100m before solid efforts of 7.88 metres in the long jump, 14.52 in the shot put and a high jump best of 2.01. But his sizzling world decathlon best of 45 seconds flat in the 400m raised the very real possibility of an assault on his previous record of 9,039 which he set three years ago in Eugene.

Eaton continued his blitz on the second day, clocking 13.69 in the 110m hurdles, then throwing 43.34m in the discus, clearing 5.20m in the pole vault before launching the javelin 63.63m to take his score after nine events to 8,216 points.

He needed to go under 4:18.25 going into the 1,500m and appeared to be off the pace before a jaw-dropping burst of speed over the last lap.

Exhausted from his exertions, Eaton collapsed after crossing the line as deafening roars from a packed Bird’s Nest greeted the announcement of his world record, the first of the championships.

Eaton also picked up a world record bonus of $100,000 (Dh367,000) from competition sponsors.

Poland’s Piotr Malachowski finally broke through for world discus gold when he threw 67.40 to take the title. Malachowski, second at two world championships, continued Poland’s impressive field performances. Belgium’s Philip Milanov claimed silver with a national record of 66.90m.

Malachowski’s team-mate Robert Urbanek grabbed bronze with a best of 65.18. Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk and Pawel Fajdek have already won the women’s and men’s hammer throw golds.

Russia’s Maria Kuchina produced a personal best when it counted as she won women’s high jump gold. The reigning world indoor champion cleared 2.01 metres for the title at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium, winning on countback from Croatia’s two-time world champion Blanka Vlasic. Russia’s Olympic and 2011 world champion Anna Chicherova finished with bronze.