The event also saw fellow American athlete Tori Bowie beat the Olympic and world champions over 200m and Britain's Mo Farah win his last track race in the United States.

Taylor, the world and Olympic champion, secured a spectacular victory in the third International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League meeting of the season as he reached a mark he had only bettered once himself in securing his 2015 world title with a final round effort of 18.21.

This was just eight centimetres shy of Jonathan Edwards' world record, and 5cm better than the first world record the Briton set in the 1995 world final.

Excitement levels at a packed Hayward Field rose again as Taylor's US rival Will Claye, who took silver behind him at the last two Olympics, responded with a personal best of 18.05m that was invalidated for record purposes by a following wind marginally over the allowable limit.  

Bowie produced a surprise victory over a stellar women's 200m field as she clocked a Diamond League and meeting record of 21.77sec to finish in front of the Olympic 400m champion from The Bahamas, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who recorded 21.91.

That meant the Rio 2016 gold and silver medallists, Elaine Thompson of Jamaica and Dafne Schippers of The Netherlands, had to settle for third and fourth place respectively in 21.98 and 22.30.

Home sprinter Allyson Felix, three times a world champion at this distance and the London 2012 gold medallist, was down in fifth place with 22.33.

It was also the first time three women had run under 22 seconds in a non-championship race.

Farah ensured that his final track race in the US, which has been his home since February 2011, ended in victory.

The 34-year-old Briton, 5,000m and 10,000m champion at the last two World Championships and Olympics, plans to retire from track racing after this summer'’s IAAF World Championships in London in order to concentrate on road running and marathons.

"I don't like to think like that, but it will be, my last," he said before his race.

"It will probably be very emotional knowing that will be my last track racing in the US.

"But you know, tomorrow I just can't be worrying about anything. 

"I just have to concentrate on the race and getting the job done."

Farah was as good as his word as he dealt with a strong field that included home runner Paul Chelimo, the 5,000m silver medallist in Rio, and Kenya's Paul Tanui, Rio silver medallist in the 10,000m.

After leading at the bell, Farah kicked on to win in 13:00.70, the fastest time run so far this season, with Ethiopia's former world junior champion Yomif Kejelcha second in 13:01.21 and Kenya’s double world half marathon and cross-country champion Geoffrey Kamworor third in 13:01.35.

Russia's 2015 world 110m hurdles champion Sergey Shubenkov, due to compete under a neutral banner after being exempted from the ban on his country’s athletes for doping infractions, was unable to make it because his visa turned up too late for him to travel.

Thankfully for Russia's 2015 world champion in the women’s high jump, Mariya Kuchina, now competing under her married name of Lasitskene, there were no such problems for her neutral-banner appearance.

She duly produced one of the highlight performances of the main programme with victory in 2.03m, matching her indoor personal best and adding 2cm to her outdoor version.

It was the best jump seen since July 2015.

The Bowerman mile was won by Ronald Kwemoi who clocked 3:49.04 to finish 0.04 in front of fellow Kenyan Elijah Manangoi on a day when their compatriot and triple world champion Asbel Kiprop could only manage 13th place in 3:58.24.

The 2008 Olympic champion was bettered on the day by Norway's 16-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who became the youngest man to break four minutes for the mile as he clocked 3:58.07 in the International Mile race.

Uniquely, Ingebrigtsen's two elder brothers also broke four minutes for the mile in the same meeting, with 26-year-old Henrik taking third place in the International Mile in 3:53.79 and 24-year-old Filip finishing eighth in the Bowerman Mile in 3:53.23.

Another youthful prodigy, Sweden's 17-year-old Armand Duplantis, whose 5.90m clearance on April 1 leads this year's world rankings in the pole vault, had to give best to the more experienced operators as he finished fourth in a competition won by US Rio bronze medallist Sam Kendricks with 5.86m. 

Second place went to France's world record holder and former Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie, who cleared 5.81m, the same height as third-placed Piotr Lisek of Poland.

Britain's Laura Muir finished third in a hugely competitive women's 1,500m, clocking 4:00.47, just one hundredth of a second behind Hellen Obiri in a race won by Obiri's fellow Kenyan and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon in 3:59.67.

Canada's Rio 200m silver medallist Andre De Grasse earned victory over American Rio 100m silver medallist Justin Gatlin in the men's 100m - but they were in fourth and fifth places, clocking 9.96 and 9.97 respectively as the race was won by home sprinter Ronnie Baker in 9.86.

South Africa's Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya maintained her dominance in the event as she won in 1:57.78, but Kenya's Margaret Wambui was just 0.10sec behind her as six women broke two minutes.

LaShawn Merritt, the former world and Olympic 400m champion, won in 44.79, although that looked pedestrian in comparison to yesterday's startling performance by 22-year-old fellow American Fred Kerley in setting a new US Collegiate record of 43.70 that put him seventh in the all-time list - with Merritt one place above him.

Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser earned a home win with a meeting record of 22.43m.

Jasmin Stowers, one of a dizzying number of world class US 100m hurdlers, earned victory in 12.59 in front of compatriots Queen Harrison in 12.64 and 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper-Nelson in 12.66. 

In the men's high hurdles, Jamaica's Olympic champion Omar McLeod retained his Eugene number one status in 13.01, finishing almost a tenth of a second clear of second-placed compatriot Ronald Levy.

Morolake Akinosun, one of the US women's 4x100m gold medallists at Rio 2016, won the 100m in 10.94 in front of the Ivory Coast's Murielle Ahoure, who clocked 10.96 and Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago, third in 10.97.