Toluta'u Koula was 30 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics. He was making his third consecutive and final Olympic appearance, having previously represented Tonga at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. On 22 September, he was drawn into heat four of the first round of the men's 100 meters; he finished the race in 11.01 seconds, ninth and last in his heat, and was eliminated. The gold medal was eventually won in 9.87 seconds by Maurice Greene of the United States; the silver was won by Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago; and the bronze was earned by Obadele Thompson of Barbados.