World record

Yehualaw, 22, clocked 63 minutes and 43 seconds which cut 19 seconds off the previous mark set by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich earlier this year.

The Ethiopian was under world record pace all the way.

Her compatriot Jemal Yimer won the men's event in 60:29 as he edged out another Ethiopian Tesfahun Akalnew.

Yimer had one second to spare from Akalnew with Kenyan Shadrack Kimining a further second back as he completed an all-African top three.

The 29-year-old took more than a tenth of a second off a record that had stood for 16 years, clocking 52.20 seconds to beat Russian Yuliya Pechonkina's previous mark of 52.34.

"I'm just shocked," said Muhammad.

"I've been kind of hitting that time in practice and my coach was like 'there's no way you can't do it'."

Nineteen-year-old Sydney McLaughlin was second in 52.88 and Ashley Spencer third in 53.11. All three qualified for the World Championships in Doha in September, where they will be joined by reigning world champion Kori Carter in a formidable US quartet.

Social media users slammed the decision to get rid of the food, equivalent to 1,500 regular sized bowls.

The Plaza Merdeka in Kuching cited safety reasons for the move.

But it said the wastage was an "unfortunate oversight and misjudgement".

It took 15 cooks and 18 hours to prepare the dish.

Cheah Kheng Mun, the shopping centre's general manager, told reporters they could not "simply give away" the laksa because they had been advised to maintain the soup gravy at a certain temperature.