Sir Chris Hoy tonight claimed a fifth Olympic gold medal when he led Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes to first place in the team sprint cycling final.
The 36-year-old Scot equalled Sir Steve Redgrave's record of five golds in the process.
Hoy's team smashed the world record twice in the event and saw off France in a thrilling climax to the evening's racing at the Velodrome. Their final time was 42.6 seconds, almost half a second ahead of France. Germany took third, beating Australia into fourth.
Hoy, who carried the Team GB flag into the Olympic stadium last Friday for the opening ceremony, still has another chance to claim a medal when he defends his keirin title next week. He was not selected to race in the individual sprint, with Kenny set to represent Team GB.
Kenny now has a second Olympic gold and third medal in all, while for Hindes it capped a remarkable period after a rapid rise to prominence, not least today after he fell to the track after a wobbly start to qualifying.
First man Hindes, 19, who seemed in trouble with his front wheel, crashed after a quarter of a lap in their qualifying match against Germany but Britain were allowed to restart according to International Cycling Union regulations. Hindes then took a cannonball start to launch Kenny perfectly with Hoy finishing it off in style.
The medals were presented by Princess Anne to the clearly elated Team GB trio in front of a crowd which included Prime Minister David Cameron, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry.
Congratulations were pouring in soon after their triumph.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said of Hoy: "It’s hard to think of another Scot who has achieved so much in sport.
"He was already a hero before these Games, but to win a gold medal in front of a home crowd makes it all the more special. And it is yet another astounding moment for British cycling this summer."
Sir Chris Hoy profile
He was first inspired to get on a bike by watching classic movie ET. The celebrated Olympic gold medallist took up BMX riding when he was six after being amazed by the stunts in Steven Spielberg's 1982 film.
The Scottish cyclist, who became Britain's most successful Olympian at a single games for 100 years by winning three golds in Beijing in 2008, did not take up track racing until he was 18.
Born and raised in the Scottish capital in 1976, his parents Carol and David bought him his first bike after he saw the movie and he raced BMX until he was 14, becoming Scottish Champion and ranking second in Britain and ninth in the world.
Hoy was also a rugby player and rower in his youth and finished second in the coxless pairs at the British national rowing championships in 1993.
As a senior, he turned his attention to track sprint cycling and in 1992 he joined his first cycling club in Dunedin. Two years later he joined the City of Edinburgh Racing Club, and since 1996 he has been a member of the Great Britain national squad.
His first major success in track racing came when he won silver medals in the team sprint at the European and World Championships in 1999.
He won his first Olympic medal the following year in Sydney when Team GB finished second in the team sprint event, and he claimed his first gold four years later by winning the kilometre time trial in Athens.
Hoy has won 13 world titles during his career, but it is his success at the Olympic Games, and Beijing in particular, that has brought him most acclaim.
At the 2008 Games, he won three gold medals in the team sprint, keirin and individual sprint to make him Britain's most successful Olympian at a single games for 100 years.
Non-cycling honours followed as he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2008 and awarded a knighthood in the Queen's New Year Honours List.
His handprints are immortalised in Caithness stone in Edinburgh City Chambers quadrangle, a result of receiving the Edinburgh Award following his Olympic success.
Hoy married his long-term girlfriend Sarra Kemp in his home city in 2010. Guests at the private ceremony at St Giles' Cathedral on the historic Royal Mile included fellow Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Adlington.
The velodrome for the 2014 Commonwealth Games has been named after the cyclist who is Scotland's greatest Olympian.
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