Jade Jones won Britain's first ever taekwondo gold when she beat Yuzhuo Hou of China in the women's under-57kgs final at ExCeL.
Jones, 19, had produced a late rally to land her trademark headkick and stun world number one Tseng Li-Cheng of Chinese Taipei 10-6 in the semi-final.
However, the opening against Hou - who had beaten Jones in last year's World Championship final - was tense, as each fighter tested their range during a scoreless first two minutes.
A low blow from the Chinese fighter accrued a second penalty which resulted in a point for Jones towards the end of the second round, and another shot to the body on the buzzer made it 2-0.
The Briton continued to go on the offensive and opened up a 5-1 lead heading into the final 30 seconds, closing out a stunning 6-4 victory.
Jones' gold eclipses bronze won four years ago in Beijing by Sarah Stevenson, who fights on Friday.