Marion Jones' tilt at sporting history is gathering momentum after a convincing start to her attempt to win five track and field gold medals in the same Olympic festival.
In the manner of an extraordinary athlete, Jones hurtled to victory in 10.75 seconds to set up a potential grand slam over the next six days in the 200 metres, long jump and the two relay events.
A winning margin of 0.51 seconds was the biggest in the history of the championship, putting her ahead of the immortal Florence Griffith Joyner, the athlete on whom she has modelled her career.
It was her 41st straight victory over a three year period for Jones, making her the most prolific winner of them all in an event in which so much can go wrong so quickly.
Despite the warmth of the smile when the runners were introduced at the start, one had the vague impression that the pressure was getting to the woman they call "Miss Cool".
Two false starts, by Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas and silver-medallist Ekaterini Thanou of Greece, can have done little to settle her, but once Jones had straightened up and was into full stride, the impression was of poetry in motion as she proceeded to demoralise her opposition over the final 50 metres.
Jamaica's Tanya Lawrence finished in third spot while Merlene Ottey, seeking to win an elusive 100 metre title at the age of 40, finished just out of the medals, but nothing could detract from the merit of a superb run by the new champion who, after two world title successes, was now savouring the sweetest moment of all.
"When I looked down that straight at the start it was like nothing I've known in my life, " she said. "I knew then that I simply couldn't afford to lose and I think the atmosphere as much as anything pumped me up for the win."
And her chances of replicating it in her other events? "Just lets take it one at a time," she said. "But yes, I am encouraged by the way I performed tonight." In a sense, Jones' win took at least some of the shine from Maurice Greene's win in the men's 100 metres. No less than his American team-mate, Greene was quite superb in putting down the challenge of his training partner Ato Boldon of Trinidad, with Obadeli Thompson of Barbados in third.
Despite a slow start, in which he found himself behind Boldon and John Drummond of the US, Greene soon regained control, and the result of the race was in no doubt by the time he had covered the first 50 metres. And in the manner of the man, he reached out for the hearts of the crowd by tossing his shoes into the stand at the end of his lap of honour.
Afterwards Greene, who finished in 9.87 seconds, said: "Four years ago I was in the stands in Atlanta crying because I was not competing (he was suffering from a hamstring injury). In the last four years I have worked hard for this, but I had a lot of help along the way from my family and friends."
But ultimately, the night and the glory belonged to the First Lady. And now who is to say that she cannot go all the way in one of the most audacious sporting adventures of our times.
