After all the talk and all the hype, Noah Lyles duly delivered when it mattered most by winning the closest-ever Olympic 100-meter final by five thousandths of a second on Sunday to give the United States the title for the first time in 20 years.
In a blanket finish, Lyles believed he had left it too late to catch the powerful Kishane Thompson, but the giant screen confirmed him as the winner in a personal best 9.79 seconds, the same time as the Jamaican, but ahead by the width of a vest.
If the race had been 99 meters, Thompson would have been celebrating a fourth Jamaican gold in the 100 in five Olympics, but fast-finishing Lyles kept his form superbly and timed his dip expertly to add Olympic gold to his world title.