With just under 0.50 seconds separating the eight-man final heat of the fastest event in swimming, the 50-meter freestyle was anyone's race. But just 21.40 seconds after the start it was a familiar face that came out on top.
Anthony Ervin, 35, who became the oldest American male swimmer to make the Olympics in an individual event since 1904, topped the charts Friday night in Rio in the splash and dash. The win made him the oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history.
Ervin used his fast reaction time and powerful tempo to earn his second medal of these Olympics but it was only by a hair as reigning world and Olympic champion Florent Manaudou of France earned the silver just 0.