Was this the greatest race in history?

A spectacular pre-race lightshow and dramatic music during a lengthy wait for the starting pistol at an expectant Stade de France heightened the senses.

But even those dazzling theatrics could not quite do justice to the events which unfolded in the 10 seconds that followed.

As Noah Lyles celebrated wildly, his first Olympic triumph confirmed, others were left stunned after witnessing one of the most remarkable Olympic 100m showdowns of all time.

American Lyles had taken victory by five-thousandths of a second from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in a dramatic photo finish, winning in 9.79 seconds.

All eight men finished within 0.12secs of the gold medal, with last-placed Jamaican Oblique Seville crossing the line in 9.91 – a time good enough for fourth at the Tokyo Games.

And it meant, for the first time, that eight men had run under 10 seconds in a wind-legal race – making it the fastest race of all time.

Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson said it was “absolutely” the best 100m final he has ever seen “bar none”.

“The final lived up to the hype. Going through the rounds it looked like a foregone conclusion that Kishane Thompson would win as he was the one who came in as the fastest man in the world,” Johnson said on BBC TV.

“We had this amazing race where you could throw a blanket over the finishing line.

“We didn’t even know who won for a few minutes.”