THE FINAL of the men’s 100m at the London 2012 Olympics was arguably the greatest line-up of sprinting talent ever to be amassed and included the five fastest men in history. All eight competitors were consistent at producing performances well under 10 seconds and, if not for the Jamaican Asafa Powell pulling up in fifth some 30 metres from the finishing line, for the first time ever all eight starters would have smashed through the coveted 10-second barrier.
The sprinting superpowers of Jamaica and USA each paraded a trio of sprinters, with a Dutchman and a Trinidadian making up the final places. While lane one was purposefully left empty for the straight sprints, former world record-holder Powell, who qualified as a fastest loser from the first semi-final, occupied lane three – in effect, the second lane.