This Saturday, in the men’s 100m heats, world leader Kishane Thompson had time to look around and slow down before winning the opening race in 10.00.

Noah Lyles, seeking four golds in Paris, finished second in his heat in 10.04 as Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe, the NCAA champion who is coached by Carl Lewis, crossed first in 9.98 to a perplexed silence, cupping his hand ironically to his ear.

Jacobs, who has let it be known that he sees Thompson as the challenge to his title rather than Lyles, finished second in his heat in 10.05. Thompson’s teammate Oblique Seville won his heat in 9.99.

The aspirations of Hinchliffe’s team-mate Jeremiah Azu had ended before they begun after he was disqualified for false starting in his opening heat.

Among the athletes racing in the men’s 100m preliminary round, on a universality place, was Montenegro’s multi-eventer Darko Pesic, who came to wider notice as he competed barefoot in the discus during this year’s European Championships decathlon in Rome.

Pesic wanted to run in Paris in memory of his father, Velisa, who died in 2020. A few days before his race he broke a bone in his right foot and he arrived in the French capital wearing a protective boot. He achieved his ambition as he completed his race in 11.85, posting afterwards on Instagram: “Father – we made it! I have always dreamed of being an Olympian.”

While the decathlon was missing the home world record-holder Kevin Mayer, unable to compete because of injury, the men’s pole vault lacked the presence of France’s former world record-holder, Renaud Lavillenie, who was desperate to sign off with an appearance at the home Games aged 37 but missed out by one place at the national trials.

Lavillenie at least got his moment in the sun, literally, as he was introduced trackside before the men’s pole vault qualifying and received warm waves of appreciation.

Just as Mayer’s fellow French decathlete Gletty inherited the massive home support, so did the home athletes in the pole vault, Anthony Ammirati and Thibaut Collet. 

But it proved not quite enough as both failed to progress in a competition where Sweden’s defending champion and world record-holder Mondo Duplantis topped the list of those who cleared 5.75m.

“Compared to Tokyo, it’s just night and day,” said Duplantis. “It’s super cool. I can’t even imagine how amazing the final’s going to be.”

World silver medallist Ernest John Obiena of Philippines, who had been hoping against hope that he would be sufficiently recovered from injury to compete in Paris, had his wish – and after passing after two failures at his initial height of 5.60m he recovered his fortunes with first-time clearances of 5.70 and 5.75m.

The repechage round, open to all who fail to earn automatic qualifying places in events ranging from 200m to 400m hurdles, offered progression to race winners and the two next fastest finishers overall in the women’s 800m.

The first athlete to qualify by this new method was Australia’s Abbey Caldwell in a heat where Uganda’s 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi, who had missed qualification by one place the previous day, finished sixth.

The din as home athlete Bourgoin overtook Allie Wilson of the United States around the final bend to claim the qualification place in heat two was ear-splitting, and she crossed the line as triumphantly as if she had won a medal. It was a very good advertisement for the repechage round.

“My feet hurt a bit but when I heard the stadium, I let the pain go and I had to keep going,” said Bourgoin. “You have a lot of emotions when people scream your name.”

Majtie Kolberg of Germany and Rose Mary Almanza of Cuba were the other winners, with Kenya’s Vivian Kiprotich and Switzerland’s Valentina Rosamilia claiming the next two fastest places.