ONE egg, one spoon, one hundred metres and Australia has it's newest world record that literally stopped traffic in Sydney this morning.

Olympic gold medallist hurdler Sally Pearson claimed the crown as the world's fastest egg-and-spoon racer with a dominating performance of 16.59 seconds at Circular Quay.

The speedy Pearson took the crown from multiple-Guinness World Record holder Ashrita Furman who had previously done the 100 metres in 19.39 seconds.

media_camera Sally Pearson cracks strange record

"I'm pretty stoked to take it," Pearson said. "I never thought my first world record would be in the egg and spoon."

"But I was really happy to give it a crack."

The odds appeared stacked against Pearson initially with the original track set out a mere 50 metres requiring a quick turn that added an extra two seconds to her time.

After conferring with her coaches a decision was made to extend the track into nearby Alfred street with volunteers stopping the flow of traffic and pedestrians to make way for the sprint.

A crowd quickly formed incorporating thrilled onlookers along with a few rushed Sydneysiders who liberally used an f-word other than "fantastic".

media_camera Olympic hurdler Sally Pearson celebrates her world record for egg-and-spoon racing. Picture: John Grainger

Record completed ferry driver Mahboob Ahmed was clear to go through to work with a thumbs up for Pearson.

"Ten out of ten," Mr Ahmed said. "Beautiful, just beautiful."

Guinness World Record spokesman Chris Sheedy said it was rare to see a record so conclusively cracked.

"We are getting a lot of teams competing lately," Mr Sheedy said. "But you don't see an individual beat the record like that."

"I think that one will stand for a while."

Originally published as Sally Pearson cracks strange record