Quincy Hall’s grimace down the home stretch of the Olympic 400-meter final on Wednesday seemed like the expression of a beaten man.

But by the time he reached the finish line at Stade de France, he was the Olympic champion.

It took one of the great comebacks to get there, as Hall surged from a distant fourth place on the final straight to a gold medal in 43.4 seconds. He was followed by Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain in 43.44 and Muzala Samukonga of Zambia in 43.74.

What a rally.