WIth just over 40 days to go until the start of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, world records tumbled at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in London on Saturday (23 July).

British sprinter and Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead smashed his own world record for the 200m in the T42 class for so-called 'blade runner' amputees. Whitehead crossed the finish line in 23.03 seconds, almost half a second faster than his previous world best.

The 40-year-old veteran promised to go even better in RIo.

“I’m heavy in training at the moment so 23.03 is fine. The goal is to go to Rio and put a solid 22 in. I still wanted to lower that world record today.”

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In the women's 200m event in the T11 class, for visually impaired athletes, Team GB's Libby Clegg knocked a staggering 0.23 off the world record set by Brazil’s Terezinha Guilhermina four years ago as she stormed to the line in 24.44.

“I’m absolutely gobsmacked at how I have performed, I can’t believe it. I have been getting better and better with every race and I’m loving every minute of it so far,” Clegg said.

“I have got high hopes for Rio and am feeling really positive about it. I am aware that most of my competition are Brazilian but I think it’ll be really exciting and I can’t wait to get there.”

In the wheelchair events, Team GB team-mate and Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft sped out of the blocks to take a convincing win in the women’s 100m in the T34 class.

Champion performances

It wasn't only the Brits who were in top form in London. Some of the hottest medal prospects for Rio 2016 recorded dominant performances in London to cement their positions as favourites for gold.

USA sprinter Jarryd Wallace held off Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock to take the win in the men’s 100m T44 in 10.80.

Poland’s reigning world and European champion Michal Derus held off 200m world champion Yohansson Nascimento of Brazil to take the win in the men’s 100m T47 with a season’s best 10.85.

Canada’s world champion Brent Lakatos powered home to win the men’s 100m T53 and there was a win too for South Africa’s Paralympic champion Fanie van der Merwe in the 100m T37.

Switzerland’s Marcel Hug enjoyed a confidence-boosting win in the men’s 1500m T54 wheelchair race, getting the better of a field including British Paralympic champion David Weir

“It was very important, if only for my own confidence. It is good to know that I am in good shape, as the Paralympic Games will be a completely different race,” Hug said.

Namibia's Johanna Benson, gold medallist a London 2012 in the 200m T37, finished well clear of the field in the women’s 400m.

Out in the field there were wins for Paralympic, world and European long jump T44 champion Markus Rehm (7.96m) and world silver medallist David Blair frrom the USA, who won the men’s discus F43/44 with a throw of 63.44m, just 20 centimetres short of the world record mark he set in May.

  Jarryd Wallace of the USA (l) came in ahead of GB's Jonnie Peacock (r) to win the 100m T44 event (Photo: Getty Images/Dan Mullan)