Cyclist Sarah Storey has been hailed as ParalympicsGB's golden girl as she became the first Brit to bag a gold medal at the Games.
The star of the track powered home in front of thousands of roaring fans. Her win came just hours after she smashed her own world record on the track in the 3km C5 individual pursuit.
Storey caught her opponent just six-and-a-half laps into the scheduled 12 lap race.
The 35-year-old swimmer-turned cyclist described her eighth Paralympic title as a "dream come true".
The gold medal latest addition to a glittering CV, having won five golds in swimming and three in cycling. She holds a staggering 19 Paralympic medals in total.
It is hoped her victory, which came after Crystal Lane missed out on bronze in the same event, will spark a gold rush.
Storey, who was born with a partly formed left hand, caught her opponent in today's final after just 1km, causing the race to finish early.
Her victory is the first gold for the British team and came just an hour after Mark Colbourne bagged a silver in the men's individual 1km Time Trial.
Speaking after her stunning victory, Storey said: "I always thought that if I could get off to a great start it would set up the week and hopefully that's the case.
"To get the gold medal is a dream come true."
Storey capped her win with a lap of honour as the crowd, which included deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Lord Coe, continued to cheer her on.
The cyclist smiled broadly and threw her arms in the air as she was hailed by her support team.
She looked towards her family after she was clearly overcome with emotion.
Her father John, mother Mary, brother, sister, nephews and in-laws were all trackside wearing white T-shirts with her name and achievements on the back.
Storey's brother, Simon Bailey, 29, could not hide his pride in his sister.
"It was just stunning, it's hard to put it into words," the geography teacher said.
"We were jumping up and down, screaming, my wife had tears in her eyes, my mum was crying her eyes out, and my dad was taking the photos, and even my little two-year-old nephew was loving it - it just unbelievable.
"We're so proud of her, she's an absolutely wonderful sister and daughter, we don't mind whether she wins or loses, we just love watching her."
Mr Bailey, who lives in south London, said the experience of watching his sister compete at the home Paralympic Games had been "phenomenal".
"We're here in force today, a home Games, we couldn't miss it," he said.
"I think it will be the icing on the cake for her. I think having the Paralympics at home and it coming at this time her career when she is really at the peak of her cycling, she's just got better and better, so the motivation is there and she will be loving it and will just want to carry on, I think."