Pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie cleared an impressive 6.05 metres and Justin Gatlin added the year's fastest 200 to his resume at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting on Saturday.
Only Sergei Bubka has vaulted higher outdoors than Lavillenie did, but the Frenchman, whose world record of 6.16 metres came indoors, said the outdoor ranking mattered little.
"What I did with 6.16 indoors is much better," the Olympic champion said.
He tried three times unsuccessfully at 6.16 but promised the height would come.
"I did it indoor so I can do it outdoor," said Lavillenie. "It is just a question of time."
Gatlin equalled his lifetime best over 200 with his run of 19.68 seconds. The 33-year-old had clocked the year's fastest 100, a lifetime best 9.74 seconds, 15 days earlier in Doha.
"A lot of people think it was a gift and a curse," Gatlin said of a four-year doping ban he served between 2006 and 2010.
"I think it gave me a little more shelf life to come back. But it also gave me a little more push to come back and prove I am a great runner."
Eight other leading performances of the year came on the warm, sunny Saturday afternoon.
Ethiopian indoor world record holder Genzebe Dibaba ran the fifth fastest women's 5,000M ever (14:19.76) while London Olympic 400 gold medallist Kirani James also looked sharp, clocking an eye-catching and world leading 43.95 seconds.
Double Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica won a high quality women's 100 in 10.81 seconds, the best time of 2015. World silver medallist Murielle Ahoure of Ivory Coast was second in the same time.
Qatari world indoor high jump winner Mutaz Essa Barshim (2.41m), Djibouti miler Ayanleh Souleiman (3:51.10), Kenyan Olympic and world steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi (8:01.71) and French high hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (13.06 seconds) also set the year's best marks.
Former world champion Tyson Gay drew a warm round of applause as he opened his season with a winning run of 9.88 seconds in the men's 100.
Allyson Felix, the Olympic 200 gold medallist, stepped up to the 400 and defeated London Games winner Sanya Richards-Ross.
Felix won in 50.05 seconds with Richards-Ross second in 50.29.
Su shines
China's Su Bingtian became the first Asian-born athlete to run a sub-10 second 100 metres when he finished third. The 25-year-old clocked 9.99 seconds.
"I am so proud for my result. I can write my name into history now and will work harder and run faster," Su told Xinhua. "This is definitely a huge boost for me."
"In Moscow, Zhang Peimeng was ranked ninth with 10 seconds, which made me feel that we are very close to entering the top eight and beating 10 seconds," Su added.
Su's time is not the fastest by an Asian athlete, however, with Qatar's Femi Ogunode having clocked 9.93 at the Asian Games in South Korea last year on his way to a sprint double.
Ogunode, though, was born in Nigeria but moved to the Gulf state in 2009 and became a naturalised citizen a year later, in time to race at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, where he won the 200 and 400 titles.
Japanese teenager Yoshidie Kiryu ran a wind-assisted 9.87 at a meeting in Texas in March, also indicating his ability and a sign that Su's milestone may soon be surpassed.
Su's compatriot Zhang Peimeng had held the previous fastest time for an Asian-born athlete with the 10.00 flat he clocked at the 2013 world championships in Moscow, and Su hoped they would be able to replicate that at this year's worlds in Beijing.
Results: Men: 100M: Tyson Gay (US) 9.88 seconds, 1; Mike Rodgers (US) 9.90, 2; Su Bingtian (China) 9.99, 3.
200M: Justin Gatlin (US) 19.68, 1; Anaso Jobodwana (RSA) 20.04, 2; Nickel Ashmeade (Jamaica) 20.18, 3.
400M: Kirani James (Grenada) 43.95, 1; LaShawn Merritt (US) 44.51, 2; Chris Brown (Bahamas) 44.54, 3.
800M: Mohammed Aman (Ethiopia) 1:44.92, 1; Nijel Amos (Botswana) 1:45.06, 2; Taoufik Makhloufi (Algeria) 1:45.17, 3.
Mile: Ayanleh Souleiman (Djibouti) 3:51.10, 1; Matthew Centrowitz (US) 3:51.20, 2; Asbel Kiprop (Kenya) 3:51.25, 3.
3000M steeplechase: Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) 8:01.71, 1; Jairus Kipchoge Birech (Kenya) 8:01.83, 2; Conseslus Kipruto (Kenya) 8:05.20, 3.
110M hurdles: Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (France) 13.06, 1; Aries Merritt (US) 13.12, 2; David Oliver (US) 13.14, 3.
400M hurdles: Johnny Dutch (US) 48.20, 1; Bershawn Jackson (US) 48.22, 2; Michael Tinsley (US) 48.79, 3.
High jump: Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) 2.41, 1; Zhang Guowei (China) 2.38, 2; Erik Kynard (US) 2.35, 3.
Pole vault: Renaud Lavillenie (France) 6.05, 1; Sam Kendricks (US) 5.80, 2; Raphael Holzdeppe (Germany) 5.80, 3.
Women: 100M: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) 10.81, 1; Murielle Ahoure (Cote D'Ivoire) 10.81, 2; Tori Bowie (US) 10.82, 3.
400M: Allyson Felix (US) 50.05, 1; Sanya Richards-Ross (US) 50.29, 2; Stephanie McPherson (Jamaica) 50.40, 3.
800M: Eunice Jepkoech Sum (Kenya) 1:57.82, 1; Ajee Wilson (US) 1:57.87, 2; Brenda Martinez (US) 1:59.06, 3.
1500M: Jennifer Simpson (US) 4:00.98, 1; Mercy Cherono (Kenya) 4:01.26, 2; Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) 4:01.65 , 3.
5000M: Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) 14:19.76, 1; Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (Kenya) 14:31.95, 2; Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (Kenya) 14:46.69, 3.
Triple jump: Caterine Ibargueen (Colombia) 15.18, 1; Yekaterina Koneva (Russia) 15.04, 2; Olha Saladuha (Ukraine) 14.48, 3.
Javelin throw: Christina Obergfoell (Germany) 63.07, 1; Kara Winger (US) 62.85, 2; Madara Palameika (Latvia) 62.85, 3.
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