Gold run: Mo Farah powered ahead of the field in the closing stages of the 10,000m to claim Britain's sixth gold of an extraordinary dayGreat Britain's Super Saturday became a golden weekend as Team GB triumphed in six separate events at London 2012.
The gold rush on Britain's best Olympic day in a century started with the men's coxless four team and women's lightweight double sculls, who topped the podium in front of an ecstatic Eton Dorney crowd early in the day.
Their double gold became a triple triumph when the women's team pursuit cyclists stormed to victory in the Velodrome at world record pace, before GB's athletics stars capped a remarkable day in the Olympic Stadium.
Jessica Ennis, the poster girl of British athletics, destroyed the field in the 800m to become Olympic heptathlon champion, long jumper Greg Rutherford claimed gold minutes later before Mo Farah powered to 10,000m glory late on.
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Leaping to glory: Long jumper Greg Rutherford claimed Olympic gold with an effort of 8.31m
Golden girl: Jessica Ennis triumphed in the heptathlon by storming to victory in the 800m
Golden streak: Team GB's triumphant women's team pursuit riders Dani King, left, Joanna Rowsell, centre, and Laura Trott celebrate after their world record victory
Delight: Beating Australia, Andrew Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory led from the start to extend Britain's dominance over the Olympic event to 16 years
Double win: Just minutes later Kat Copeland and Sophie Hosking hugged each other and stood up, almost in disbelief, as they claimed gold in the lightweight eventEarlier Team GB won two rowing golds and yet another in the velodrome as the women in the team pursuit claimed victory with another world record.
When Ennis's moment of triumph came the audience were ecstatic and she sat on the track and wept. She then broke into a huge smile, acknowledged the adoring crowd and wrapped herself in a huge Union flag marked 'Olympic Champion'.
Interviewed by the BBC, she burst into tears and said: 'I am so shocked, I can't believe it. I am so happy.'
Farah hugged his stepdaughter Rhianna and wife, Tania, who is pregnant with twins, as he draped himself in the Union flag.
Here come the girls: The gold medal won by the women's team pursuit riders was Team GB's 11th of a successful Games for the home nation
Emotional moment: Katherine Copeland (left) and Sophie Hosking stand on the podium after winning the gold medalTalking to the BBC he said: 'This is the best moment of my life.'
The Somali-born athlete, who attended Feltham Community College and Isleworth and Syon School in London, danced for joy around the track.
Rutherford, from Milton Keynes, said: 'That is the most amazing feeling in the world.'
Away from the Stadium a sensational world record-breaking performance by women cyclists in the team pursuit, in the frenzied atmosphere of the velodrome, led to another gold.
Great Britain's female cyclists had fulfilled their lifelong dream by claiming a stunning team pursuit gold in a blistering world record.
Britain have now won four of the five gold medals on offer after three days of track cycling, with five events to come, after Joanna Rowsell, Dani King and Laura Trott clocked three minutes 14.051 seconds to triumph with a sixth consecutive world record in the three-woman, 3km event.
Flying the flag: Trott (front) and King cannot hide their jubilation after their world record win
Leading from the front: King, Trott and Rowsell dominated their gold medal race from start to finish, leaving their opponents in their wake in world record timeThe wins propelled the British team into third position in the medal table with 29 - 14 gold, seven silver and eight bronze. And with strong gold medal contenders Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah to compete later tonight, Britain's could make it an unprecedented five golds in one day.
Over at Eton Dorney, the British national anthem was belted out for the third day in four as Team GB dominated the water once again.
Great Britain made history with two more gold medals and a silver on the final day of competition to confirm their status as the world's leading rowing nation.
With four golds - and an incredible nine medals in total from an unprecedented 13 finalists - London 2012 was Great Britain's most successful Olympic regatta ever.
The men's coxless four crew led from start to finish to cross in 6 minutes, 3.97 seconds. Australia was a half-length behind in second and the United States took the bronze.
Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase won silver, but lost their Olympic title in the men's lightweight double sculls to Denmark and were still inconsolable hours after a race of high drama.
Victory: Great Britain celebrate after winning the gold medal in the men's four final A of the rowing event at Eton Dorney Rowing Centre in Eton
Team GB celebrate their win as the crowd look on cheering.For the third day out of four the sound of the British national anthem then echoed across the lake as British rowing fans belted out the anthem in support of their rowers.
Great Britain's Andrew Triggs Hodge, centre raises his hands in celebration and then men embraced when they returned to land In the Velodrome, Britain's newest cycling heroines paid tribute to the support team which keeps them ahead of the game as they won gold in a thunderous atmosphere in the velodrome.
Speaking after the success in the women's team pursuit - which not only saw the trio win gold but also set their third world record of the day - Joanna Rowsell said Team GB's preparation gave them an advantage over other nations.
She said that everybody from support staff to mechanics played their part: 'Other nations have really raised their game so it's great that we are leading the way.
'You never want to be complacent but we had had a great day and I felt we had more to give coming into the final race.
'The atmosphere was tremendous and the crowd helped drive us on.'
The trio completed a remarkable achievement as they set a third record of the day to take gold in the 3km competition.
They beat a strong US team in the final with a time of three minutes, 14 seconds. Canada took bronze.
Although Saturday was largely a day of celebration for Team GB, Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter's silver medal was tinged with disappointment as they were narrowly pipped to gold.
The seat broke on Purchase and Hunter's boat less than a hundred yards into their race, causing calamity for the British pair as the contest had to be restarted.
Triumphant: Great Britain take a bow in front of the crowd before receiving their gold medals
Winning team: The men smiled widely during the medal ceremony for the Men's Four Final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Eton DorneyIt looked like the duo were remarkably going to hang on for gold only to be pipped in the final few yards by Denmark.
Britain, the reigning world champion, maintained its dominance of the discipline that stretches back more than two decades to the days of rowing greats Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent.
The gold was Britain's seventh medal of the regatta - and third gold - to surpass its total from Beijing four years ago, making it the country's biggest rowing haul in the modern era.
Their victory also denied Australia's Drew Ginn a fourth gold in four Olympic Games - a feat that would have been a first for an Australian.
Triggs Hodge, the British stroke, repeatedly punched the air after sealing victory and the four crew members got in a huddle on the jetty after climbing out of the boat.
The Australians and the British then embraced, a friendly ending to months of mind games and trash talk by the rival crews.
Ginn said Australia would turn the final into a 'drag race,' going out hard from the start, but it was Britain which took the early lead by 0.3 seconds after 500 meters.
The cushion was 0.6 seconds at the 1,000 and 1,500-meter markers and Britain held on comfortably as they were roared home by the crowd, winning by 1.22 seconds.
The coxless four crew was also cheered on by Lieutenant Reed's fellow sailors and Royal Marines who are embarked on HMS Bulwark providing Games security in Weymouth.
Reed said: 'The hours we do, the pain - it was all worth it in the end.'
A bewildered Copeland said: 'I can't believe this is real - that we just won the Olympics.'
A little help from my friends: The cyclists were cheered on by Paul McCartney, following his appearance at the Opening Ceremony last FridayTHE PATHWAY TO GOLD: ANDREW TRIGGS HODGE, PETE REED, TOM JAMES, ALEX GREGORY
1979: Andrew Triggs Hodge born on March 9 in Aylesbury. Will go on to start rowing at Staffordshire University.1981: Pete Reed born July 1981 in Seattle, United States. A Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Reed will later take up rowing at the University of the West of England.
1984: Alex Gregory and Tom James both born on March 11. James will learn to row at Evesham while Gregory will take up the sport through the GB Rowing Start scheme.
2003: James makes his Great Britain debut in the eight, stroking the boat to bronze at the World Championships.
2005: Hodge and Reed win the Boat Race with Oxford and are part of the British four that wins gold at the World Championships.
2006: Hodge and Reed are part of the men's four that wins gold at the World Championships at Eton Dorney.
2007: James competes in his fourth Boat Race for Cambridge, tasting victory for the first time.
2008: Hodge, Reed and James beat Australia to win Olympic gold with a stunning late charge for the line.
2009: Hodge and Reed move into the pair and win silver at the World Championships. Gregory switches to sweep rowing and wins gold in the men's four.
2010: Hodge and Reed win silver at the World Championships, finishing just three tenths of a second behind New Zealand. Gregory is in the men's four crew that finishes a disappointing fourth.
2011: James returns to the GB squad and joins Gregory in the men's four that wins gold at the World Championships. Hodge and Reed again have to settle for silver behind the Kiwis.
2012: May - Hodge and Reed move back into the four alongside Gregory and James, winning World Cup gold at Belgrade and Lucerne.
June - The British four are beaten twice by Australia in the final World Cup regatta in Munich, taking silver.
August 4 - Britain win gold at the Olympic Games.
source:dailymail
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