Opinion | Postcard from Paris: a stunning show, a speedy final and even quicker exit after men’s 100m

The chances are the 77,083 spectators inside the Stade de France could run newly crowned Olympic champion Noah Lyles quite close in terms of the reaction time, given the speed with which they left after the men’s 100m final on Sunday night.

I might have spent a couple more minutes in the stands watching the moments after a United States sprinter finally won the coveted title again after 20 years before making my way to the exits, but there must have still been 20,000 people walking, or running, trying to find their way to the various Metro or train stations nearby.

A couple of trains had come and gone before I managed to hop on one at La Plaine – Stade de France, one of the stations on Line B of the RER train service. Even then, the order on the street and the platform was surprisingly good as thousands of people left the area.

The men’s 100m final was not just a race but also a stunning show, especially for the spectators who had been waiting all night for its arrival, assuming they didn’t turn up an hour before it started like I did.

Ten minutes before the scheduled start, the arena DJ started playing strong, loud music to build up the momentum in the stands. There were also laser beams and disco lights everywhere, too.