A man has been arrested after a bottle was thrown on to the track seconds before the start of the men's 100 metres final at the Olympic Stadium.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a man had been heard shouting abuse and was then seen throwing a bottle.
The suspect is being held in police custody at an East London police station on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.
The bottle landed behind the sprinters (pictured top), coming to a halt a few feet behind Jamaican Yohan Blake, the eventual silver medallist, in lane five.
The sound of the item landing just behind athletes, including eventual winner Usain Bolt, could be heard on video footage just after the starter told the runners to "set".
United States athlete Justin Gatlin, who won bronze, said the bottle had been a "little distraction".
Nobody was injured and the event was not disrupted, police confirmed.
Speaking after the race, Gatlin said: "I didn't know what it was, but when you're in those blocks and the whole stadium's quiet you can hear a pin drop."
Gatlin said the incident had not affected the race: "You just have to block it out and go out there and do what you got to do.
"You can't complain about that, the race went on and it was a great race."
Bolt, from Jamaica, told reporters he had been unaware of the incident and said: "I don't know who would have done that."
Blake added: "I was so focused on just running to the line I didn't see anything."
Dutch judo bronze medallist Edith Bosch claimed on Twitter that she had "beaten" the person who had thrown the bottle.
She said: "A drunken spectator threw a bottle onto the track! I HAVE BEATEN HIM... unbelievable".
One spectator wrote on Twitter: "Man in front of me threw bottle onto track just at start! Had to be wrestled off..."
Another said: "So a drunk p---- actually threw a bottle onto the track as 100m started! He got punched by Dutch judo bronze medallist Edith Bosch tho".
"A man was arrested inside the Olympic Stadium on suspicion of causing a public nuisance on the evening of Sunday, 5 August," said a Scotland Yard spokesman.
"The man had been heard to shout abuse and then throw a plastic bottle on to the track immediately prior to the start of the men's 100m final.
"He remains in custody at an East London police station."
A London 2012 spokesman commented: "We are aware of the incident and are looking into it."
By Mike Rowbottom at the Olympic Stadium in London
Source: www.insidethegames.biz
There is no doubt that Ian Sharpe the T&T Olympic team physiotherapist is a big man. In fact in certain circles, you would describe him as a giant and given his continual influence on the health and welfare of the team in London, this is a man whose knowledge and intelligence has to be respected. So after an exhilarating performance from Njisane Phillips in the quarter finals of the cycling match sprint yesterday, Sharpe who was at the Cycling Velodrome, explained that he had not seen any athlete in recent time with the same recovery instincts as Phillips. “He is a different kind of athlete, the kind of special ones that do not take very long to recover. His appetite is quite good and strong and he seems to have a lot of strength, he can keep going.”
Jehue Gordon will try to settle his nerves today when he takes on the world’s best in the 400 metres hurdles final at the Olympics Games in London, England. “I know T&T is behind me 100 percent. I just want to thank them for the support,” said Gordon ahead of his first Olympic final which will be at 8.45 pm (3.45 pm T&T time) at Olympic Stadium. “I am going to again concentrate on my lane and have fun.” In his first appearance at the premier sporting event, the 2010 world junior champion qualified for the final, clocking a personal and season’s best time of 47.96 seconds, to break the national record. Gordon lines up against USA’s T&T-born Kerron Clement, who joined American Edwin Moses and Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez in 2009 as the only men ever to win the world 400m hurdles title twice, with all three accomplishing the feat in consecutive years.
Trinidad and Tobago's Njisane Phillip made a major breakthrough at the Velodrome, here in London, England, yesterday, beating Russia's Denis Dmitriev in two straight rides to reach the Olympic Games men's sprint semi-final.
The greatest Olympian in history brought down the curtain on his uniquely glittering career, and the London 2012 swimming competition, by doing what has come naturally for over a decade – winning.
Underlining the US' dominance is the multi-medal hauls of their top swimmers.
It was this remarkably versatile swimmer's fourth medal of the Games, following gold in the 400m, silver in the 200m freestyle and bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Not that the great man seemed to mind, as he flashed his trademark toothy grin to all corners of the London Aquatics Centre.