Meb Keflezighi became the first US man in 27 years to win the New York City Marathon, while Derartu Tulu ended Paula Radcliffe's two-year grip on the women's title.
World marathon record-holder Haile Gebrselassie won the Berlin marathon for the fourth time, but failed to break his own world record, clocking a time of two hours six minutes eight seconds. Kenyan Francis Kiprop finished second.
Disputed South African world champion Caster Semenya took gender tests before the Berlin World Championship according to South African athletics top officials. The results are not yet known.
China's capital Beijing will bid for the 2015 Athletics World Championships, Chinese media reported on Thursday. The 2011 event will be taking place in Daegu, South Korea and the 2013 event in Moscow.
Usain Bolt is to make a last appearance at the World Athletic Finals in Greece and will not run in Korea or China due to "fatigue". Bolt has run nine 200m, fifteen 100m and 150 exhibition races since the beginning of the year.
South African officials have reacted furiously to claims that the 800m world champion Caster Semenya should be banned from competing after a report in the Sydney Daily Telegraph suggested she was a hermaphrodite.
Usain Bolt clocked the fourth fastest time ever over 200 metres at a Golden League meeting in Brussels as fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell saw off US rival Tyson Gay in the 100m sprint.
Pole vaulting champion Yelena Isinbayeva came back from her poor Berlin performance to set a new world record of 5.06 metres at the Golden League in Zurich. The Russian bettered her previous record of 5.05 metres at the Beijing Olympics.
In this edition: Gabon goes to the polls this Sunday in an election to replace late president Omar Bongo; in Nigeria, several animal species are becoming endangered; and a rousing welcome for South African athlete Semenya.
