There’s always an incredible buzz in the stadium on the night of the men’s 100m final. It’s incredible that just under 10 seconds of action can illicit such a build-up. Then again, the man they all came to see – Usain Bolt – has a lot to do with that. And he didn’t disappoint.

The world stood still for those 10 seconds to witness a phenomenon – the calibre of which they’re unlikely to witness again any time soon because Bolt has confirmed this will be his last Olympic Games.

Athletics crowds know their stuff and it was interesting to hear the Rio crowd was no different – booing Justin Gatlin when he was introduced at the start of the race, just as he had been ahead of the semi-final earlier in the evening. The American’s two drug offences are well-documented and in their eyes, Bolt was running to defend the good name of clean athletes.

He did that in just 9.81 seconds and for that moment, all was right with the world. The good guy had won.

Gatlin finished second in 9.89 with Canada’s Andre de Grasse third in 9.91.

The crowd went wild. They witnessed Bolt ticking off the first task on his treble treble list (three golds at three consecutive Olympics). Just the 200m and the 4x100m relay to go now. But this was arguably the most difficult.

Jamaican fans stayed in the Olympic Stadium for over an hour after the race – hovering over the media area where their hero was conducting TV interviews. Chants of “Usain, Usain” were heard from a good distance as the always theatrical Bolt lapped it up and relished the moment he’s experienced so many times before.

“Somebody said I can become immortal,” he said. “Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal.”