I have seen a lot of smiles like that in the past eight days, probably more than in the entire rest of my life. It doesn't get old.

A few minutes later, it was time for the loquacious Greene to face the ultimate test. He is the greatest male sprinter in the world, the world record holder at 9.79, but he faced stiffer competition than Jones, particularly from his friend, roommate and training partner, Trinidad's Ato Bolden. Bolden had run 9.90 to take bronze in Atlanta, and it seemed possible that he might push Greene, at least give him something to think about. But Greene, unfazed by the ominous sunglasses affected by his pal, had just dusted Bolden in the semis, 10.06 to 10.13, so any psychological edge was in his corner.

As Greene warmed up, he did a kind of boxer's shuffle, licking his lips -- a trademark quirk. He got down in the blocks, his round-muscled, bulging physique perfectly still. The gun sounded. Within a few meters, as with Jones' race, it was all over. Once Greene took the lead, his ripped arms and ridiculous quadriceps pumping in perfect form as he flew down the track, there was never any question that he would be caught. It's an amazing thing to see a runner just demolish another one, when the other one is himself moving at frightening speed. Greene won in 9.87, fast but well off his world record of 9.79. The Olympics is about winning, though, not setting records, and he cleaned Bolden's clock by .12 seconds. Obadele Thompson of Barbados took the bronze at 10.04.

Greene had missed qualifying for Atlanta, and four years ago he had sat in the stands at the 100-meter final and wept. When he crossed the line, Greene put his hands on his head, then sank to his knees and embraced his friend Bolden for a long, heartfelt moment.

In a plastic age where every two-bit ballplayer has a P.R. agent, we get used to seeing athletes feigning emotions, pretending to be touched. But I don't think either Greene or Jones was pretending. I think they were in the moment, just as they'd been in the moment when they came down that track faster than anyone else on the planet. I think they just realized they'd won gold at the Olympics.

Greene took his lap, highlighting it by throwing his shoes into the crowd. He and the other medalists posed with the flags of their countries draped around them. And then he was gone, taking with him one 10-second feat that would last for the rest of his life, and that would stay uncannily in the minds of those who saw it. After all, we had just watched the fastest man in the world.

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