In the moments before the start of an Olympic 100-meter final, a tense hush falls across the stadium. As the athletes take to the track and finish their warmup, nervousness and excitement plays across their faces. Years of training come down to 10 short seconds. It is widely considered the pinnacle race of the largest event in sports, and it is a moment worthy of special celebration.
As the world’s fastest women and men took to the track in Tokyo for their respective 100 meter finals on Saturday and Sunday night, the entire National Stadium, newly built for these games, was plunged into darkness as the house lights were suddenly switched off.
From the rafters, a single beam of light hit the track, expanding widthways to illuminate the Olympic rings and the entire length of the 100-meter straight. And then the track seemed to almost melt, turning into a rippling wave and series of cascading 3D blocks. A peculiar mirage created by the Tokyo summer heat, perhaps? No, this was an elaborately choreographed projection mapping presentation to kick off the Olympics’ blue-ribbon event, the 100 meter finals.