A stunning pre-race lightshow and dramatic music during the long wait for the starting pistol at the much anticipated Stade de France heightened the senses.
However, even their stunning theatrics could not fully capture the events that occurred in the next few seconds.
Others were surprised after seeing one of the most spectacular Olympic 100m contests of all time, as Noah Lyles celebrated passionately after his maiden Olympic victory was confirmed.
In a dramatic photo finish, American Lyles won by five-thousandths of a second over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, clocking 9.79 seconds.
All eight men finished within 0.12 seconds of the gold medal, with last-placed Jamaican Oblique Seville crossing the line in 9.91, a time good.
And that meant that, for the first time, eight men ran under 10 seconds in a wind-legal event, making it the quickest race ever.
Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic champion, claimed the 100m final was “absolutely” the best he had ever seen.
“The finale lived up to expectations. Going through the rounds, it seems inevitable that Kishane Thompson would win since he was the fastest man in the world,” Johnson told TV.
“We had an incredible race in which you could throw a blanket over the finish line.
