Colin Jackson congratulated Liu Xiang after the Chinese broke his 13-year world record in the men's 110m hurdles.
Liu jointly held the previous mark of 12.91 seconds with the retired Welshman, but smashed that in Lausanne on Tuesday night by running 12.88.
"People have been asking me for 13 years how long I thought my record would last," Jackson told BBC Sport.
"But it's always better to have a world record holder on the track performing and Liu Xiang's time is phenomenal."
Liu, 23, had matched Jackson's time, set by the two-times world champion in Stuttgart in 1993, on his way to Olympic gold at the 2004 Games in Athens.
"Remember it was his record as well and I'm very excited about the new world record, there's no need to commiserate with me - the new time is so incredibly quick," Jackson added.
Jackson was demoted to third place in the all-time list of timings, as American Dominique Arnold also dipped inside his mark by taking second place in 12.90.
Jackson agreed that it was an incredible night for his event and believes that the new record could last another 13 years.
"It is one of those times that is out there now with the likes of Michael Johnson's record and I don't think you'll see an improvement on Liu Xiang's record for a hell of a long time."
Johnson's current 200m world record of 19.32 has stood for 10 years, while his 400m mark of 43.18 was set in 1999.