Fani Halkia of Greece has won the women’s 400 metres hurdles gold medal tonight, causing rapturous scenes at the Olympic Stadium.
The race pitched Halkia against the reigning world and Commonwealth champion, Jana Pittman of Australia, but it was a no-contest. Halkia flashing home in 52.82 seconds.
Halkia was leading at the midway point and she moved further clear, shrugging off the challenge of Pittman, who faded over the final 150 metres to fifth place.
Halkia revived memories of Cathy Freeman’s famous victory at the Sydney Games.
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Just as Freeman wrote herself into Olympic legend with her stunning 400 metres run four years ago, so Halkia established herself as a name to never forget.
Halkia, whose time was just five hundredths of a second outside the Olympic record which she set in the semi-finals, said: “I was feeling great. You hear the people and it was like flying really.
“I feel so happy really. I want to say thanks to my coach, Giorgos Panagiotopoulos, we’ve trained very hard together. Thanks God, He blessed me.”
Halkia has risen from the ranks of the obscure to become Olympic champion, having been ranked only 50th in the world last year.
Sporting tattoos of the Greek flag - believed to be temporary - on both arms, she began to move well clear of the field with two of the ten hurdles remaining.
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Falkia used to compete over the flat 400m, before making the switch.
It was only a medical miracle which allowed Pittman to compete.
She made an incredible return from a knee operation, having undergone arthroscopic surgery barely a fortnight ago in London.
Pittman had torn her lateral meniscus while warming up for her race at the Zurich Golden League meeting at the start on August.
And although hopes for her were high among Australian fans dotted about the Olympic Stadium, the attention of the rest of the sell-out crowd was all on Halkia.
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The 25-year-old was desperate not to let anybody down, and as she crossed the line the roar which had accompanied her around the track turned into wild celebrations.
It was Greece’s second track and field gold of the Games which have been tarnished by the drugs controversy involving Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou, following 20-kilometre walk champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka into Athenian folklore.
Ionela Tirlea-Manolache of Romania took the silver, and Tetiana Tereshchuk-Antipova of Ukraine the bronze.
Tirlea-Manolache ran 53.38 seconds, while Tereshchuk-Antipova finished in 53.44 seconds.