Jeffery Gibson has won the gold for the Bahamas at the Pan Am Games in the men's 400m hurdles - breaking his own nation record in the process.

On the third day of competition in athletics in Toronto, Canada, Gibson, 24, clocked 48.51 seconds to improve on his previous national record of 48.77 that he set on July 14 in Luzern. He beat out Puerto Rico's Javier Culson, who got the silver in 48.67 and Jamaican Roxroy Cato, who took the bronze in a season's best of 48.72.

Race favourite Kerron Clement from the United States ended up fourth in 48.72.

It's the second gold for the Bahamas and the third medal so far at the games. Gibson joins swimmer Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, who took gold in the women's 50m freestyle in a national record of 24.38. Vanderpool-Wallace, 25, also picked up a bronze in the 100m free.

It was also Gibson's second major international medal, coming off his bronze medal in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland last year.