Despite being outside of the medal places with 50 metres remaining, Noah Lyles clawed his way back to secure gold ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson and fellow countryman Fred Kerley, who claimed silver and bronze respectively.
Remarkably, it was the first time in history that all eight men broke the 10-second barrier in a wind-legal race, with just five thousandths of a second separating Lyles and Thompson in a sensational photo finish.
In nervous scenes before the race, the competitors were forced to wait several minutes for the starting gun – and the athletes faced another anxious wait to learn the winner at its conclusion before Lyles was crowned the new Olympic champion.
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A protestor had reportedly attempted to gain access to the track prior to this evening’s showpiece, but this happened before the athletes had even made their entrances and is not thought to be the reason for the start time having to be pushed back at the Stade de France.
‘The tension is building. I’ve never seen them kept this long on the start line,’ Cram said on BBC Sport’s commentary of the race.
‘They’ve been introduced to the crowd, they’ve had the hero walk-ins, something which Lyles has almost made his own, and we’re waiting for something here, but I’m not sure what. This isn’t helping the guys, this is too long.’
Former British hurdler Jackson added: ‘I’m looking down at the track to see if there are any issues, any problems, because we know this race was supposed to start at least three minutes ago…
‘There doesn’t seem to be anything happening.
‘This is very frustrating for them because this is the biggest race of the year.’
In the BBC Sport studio, Lewis – who won gold for Britain at the Sydney Games in 2000 – said the athletes had been made to wait ‘way too long’ for the start of the race.
Asked whether she had seen anything like the delay before, Lewis told BBC Sport: ‘No and I have to say that it’s a little bit unfair to the athletes themselves.
‘You get yourself to that arousal point where you’re in the zone, you’re absolutely wanting to give everything and then that is just waining slightly, the longer you’re left out there.
‘This is the finite margins we’re talking about and that for me was just way too long.’
Jessica Ennis-Hill, meanwhile, argued that the delay may actually have made for a more exciting race.
‘But then I suppose just look at the times,’ the London 2012 hero said in response to Lewis’ comments.
‘That wait and that adrenaline we felt, they felt it too and it produced a fantastic race.’
Speaking shortly after his sensational win, Lyles said he had to take each round as it came after underwhelming showings in the heats and in the semi-finals.
‘I had to take each round as it was. I was a little upset after the first round so I came with the aggression and then after I ran that 9.83, I was like, “Alright, the aggression, we’re done with that”,’ he explained.
‘My sports therapist said, “You have to let go, you’re holding on… let you and release it!”.
‘There’s plenty more to come. I hope you guys liked it because I’ve got a lot more coming.’
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