'Ten Second Showdown' - five incredible 100m races

The explosive drama of the 100m sprint makes it an event that transcends sport.

Becoming the fastest man or woman in the world ensures a place in the history books and recognition beyond the athletics field.

For former BBC athletics commentator Mike Costello, it's about the dramatic silence just before the starting pistol as he says: "All the noise, the talking and the hype have subsided - suddenly you can almost hear the athletes breathing."

Costello presents Ten Second Showdown, a new series on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds, telling the stories behind some of the most iconic 100m races of all time.

And in case you've ever wondered, he finds out how it feels to race against Usain Bolt.

After the US led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Margaret Thatcher's government wanted UK athletes to follow suit and withdraw.

Allan Wells, an ex-long jumper who trained in an Edinburgh garage with his wife and coach Margot, resisted huge pressure from 10 Downing Street.

The much-fancied Americans weren't in the Central Lenin Stadium as he lined up for the 100m final, but Wells' Cuban rival, Silvio Leonard, was.

They looked impossible to separate as they crossed the line. After an agonising wait, the Scot was confirmed as the winner in 10.25 seconds.

Detractors claimed the 1980 Games were devalued because of the absence of the USA and West Germany.

But Wells - who also won silver in the 200m event - had an answer for that. Two weeks later in a Cologne meet, he took on the American rivals, including Stanley Floyd and Carl Lewis, who had stayed away. He finished first again.

Listen to Ten Second Showdown: Allan Wells

At 4am, the phone rang in the hotel room of Colin Hart, who was covering the Seoul Olympics for The Sun.

"There's a major story about to break", Hart was told. It was his first warning that one of the biggest scandals in the history of sport was unfolding.

Shortly afterwards, BBC host Des Lynam delivered the bombshell news.

"I've just been handed a piece of paper," he said. "If it's right, it'll be the most dramatic story out of these Olympics or perhaps any others".

Hart and his journalist room-mate sprang into action.

"We're both in our underpants, would you believe it?" he recalls. "Dictating one of the greatest sports stories of the century."

That story was about Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter whose bitter rivalry with Carl Lewis felt more like one between two heavyweight boxers.

Johnson had just powered to victory in the men's 100m final, smashing the world record with a time of 9.79 secs. But then he tested positive for Stanozolol, a banned performance-enhancing steroid.

It wasn't just Johnson - there's a reason the 1988 men's 100m final has become known as the 'dirtiest race in history'. Six of the eight men that lined up that day were linked with performance-enhancing drugs at some point in their careers.

Listen to Ten Second Showdown: Ben Johnson

The day after Ben Johnson set his world record, another sprint superstar took to the track at Seoul's Olympic Stadium.

Wearing the standard red Team USA kit rather than the vivid one-legged outfits she had become known for, Florence Griffith Joyner powered to victory, with her rivals nowhere to be seen.

Flo-Jo - as she was known - had gone even faster earlier that summer at the US Olympic trials. She ran 10.49 secs, obliterating the world record.

"It cannot be," yelled the trackside commentator. "No-one can run that fast."

In the 36 years since, nobody has done so.

There's scepticism because it was extremely windy that day - although the official reading for that race was zero.

But it wasn't just the wind that had triggered suspicion. Flo-Jo's dramatic improvement was too much for some, who suspected doping. But the American never tested positive.

She died aged 38 in 1998 after an epileptic seizure, leaving a legacy of untouchable world records, inspirational outfits - and plenty of unanswered questions.

Listen to Ten Second Showdown: Florence Griffith Joyner

A 19-year-old Jonnie Peacock crouches in his blocks as 80,000 spectators fall silent. He knows the difference between triumph and disaster will be about the time it takes to blink an eye.

"You sit there, and you think - in 10 seconds, this is going to be done," he says. "Four years of my life."

The 100m was the climax of Thriller Thursday - a highlight of Team GB's golden summer of 2012 and perhaps the greatest night in Paralympic history.

Peacock's stunning success followed wins for Hannah Cockroft and David Weir.

"The crowd was absolutely bouncing," he adds.

So much so that as the athletes settled in their blocks, Peacock turned to the stands, his finger on his lips, telling them to be quiet as he took the T44 final in a time of 10.90 secs.

Listen to Ten Second Showdown: Jonnie Peacock

The day before Usain Bolt cantered to gold in the 100m in Beijing with a time of 9.69 secs - so clear of his rivals he could showboat over the line and still smash his own world record - Craig Pickering got a taste of the Jamaican's form in the quarter-final.

"I don't think I've ever been so far behind somebody in my life," says the Team GB sprinter.

"Typically in a race, you'd sort of have a rough idea - I think that person's slightly ahead of me, I think I'm slightly ahead of this person, but I'm not entirely sure.

"You're very sure where you are in terms of Usain Bolt. You can see all of him."

Bolt's retirement in 2017 has left athletics with a huge pair of running shoes to fill.

"He had an impact on the sport like nobody I've ever seen," adds Costello. "And I have to say, like I can't believe any athlete ever will again."

But at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, a new generation of athletes have the chance to step up, and more Ten Second Showdowns will take place. They will have a lot to live up to.

Listen to Ten Second Showdown: Usain Bolt