Usain Bolt joined an exclusive club when he stormed to victory in the 200 metres final at the Bird's Nest in a new world record time of 19.30 seconds.
The 21-year-old Jamaican became just the ninth man in modern Olympic history to complete the 100m and 200m sprint double.
He is the first man since Carl Lewis at Los Angeles in 1984 to complete the feat.
Bolt, who casually shaved 0.03 seconds off his own record in winning the 100 metres title in sensational style on Saturday, clocked 19.30secs to break Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record of 19.32s.
The 21-year-old, who turns 22 tomorrow, made a brilliant start and was already well clear of the field coming into the straight.
But unlike the 100m final, where he began celebrating well before the line, this time he sprinted through the tape to initially stop the clock at 19.31s, a time that was swiftly rounded down to 19.30s.
Churandy Martina, of the Dutch Antilles, took silver in 19.82.
American Wallace Spearmon crossed the line in third place in 19.95 but was disqualified for running out of his lane and team-mate Shawn Crawford, who ran 19.96 was promoted to the bronze medal.
Britain's Christian Malcolm finished seventh in 20.40.
When Bolt set off on his lap of honour 'happy birthday' rang out over the tannoy.
Johnson had actually said earlier in the day that he felt his record would not
be broken tonight, but that it was only a matter of time before he could 'kiss
it goodbye.'
But Bolt had other ideas and the determination on his face was clear as he
powered down the home straight before glancing anxiously at the clock as he
crossed the line.
'In order to run 19.30 he has to run the curve better and hold his speed for longer,' Johnson had added earlier. "I didn't think he would run 9.69, but I think he could have run 9.62 if he had run to the finish and tied up his shoes.'
In the final event of the evening, Jamaica's Melaine Walker won gold in the 400m hurdles in a new Olympic record of 52.64s.
Walker powered off the final hurdle to finish comfortably ahead of American Sheena Tosta with Britain's Natasha Danvers putting an injury-plagued season behind her to snatch bronze.
Danvers was almost caught on the line by the fast-finishing Anastasiya Rabchenyuk of Ukraine and waited for confirmation from the giant scoreboard that she had held on to set a new personal best of 53.84.
It was then announced that the American team had launched a protest over Spearmon's disqualification from the 200m final.
OLYMPIC SPRINT DOUBLES
1904 Archie Hahn (United States)
1912 Ralph Craig (United States)
1928 Percy Williams (Canada)
1932 Eddie Tolan (United States)
1936 Jesse Owens (United States)
1956 Bobby Morrow (United States)
1972 Valeriy Borzov (Soviet Union)
1984 Carl Lewis (United States)
2008 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
American great Michael Johnson hailed Usain Bolt's "incredible" achievement.
Johnson set a record of 19.32 seconds at the 1996 Olympics, and it was considered one of the toughest to beat in athletics.
However, Bolt sliced two-hundredths of a second from Johnson's time when winning
his second gold in Beijing in a time of 19.30secs.
'He got an incredible start,' said Johnson on BBC1. 'I looked at Colin Jackson and I said, 'Wow!'.
'It was much more of an amazing start than he got in the 100m and his turn was just absolutely fabulous.
'He wanted that record. This is his favourite event.
'He went for it. He came in here focused on it, knowing most likely he'd win the gold.
'The reason I felt he might not get it here was he wouldn't have been working on speed endurance, the ability to hold that speed for the entire race.
'But he showed that he had been working on that, and was able to bring home 19.30.
'Incredible time, incredible performance by Usain Bolt once again.
'Congratulations Usain.'
The 21-year-old Jamaican became just the ninth man in modern Olympic history to complete the 100m and 200m sprint double.
He is the first man since Carl Lewis at Los Angeles in 1984 to complete the feat.
Bolt, who casually shaved 0.03 seconds off his own record in winning the 100 metres title in sensational style on Saturday, clocked 19.30secs to break Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record of 19.32s.
The 21-year-old, who turns 22 tomorrow, made a brilliant start and was already well clear of the field coming into the straight.
But unlike the 100m final, where he began celebrating well before the line, this time he sprinted through the tape to initially stop the clock at 19.31s, a time that was swiftly rounded down to 19.30s.
Churandy Martina, of the Dutch Antilles, took silver in 19.82.
American Wallace Spearmon crossed the line in third place in 19.95 but was disqualified for running out of his lane and team-mate Shawn Crawford, who ran 19.96 was promoted to the bronze medal.
Britain's Christian Malcolm finished seventh in 20.40.
When Bolt set off on his lap of honour 'happy birthday' rang out over the tannoy.
Johnson had actually said earlier in the day that he felt his record would not
be broken tonight, but that it was only a matter of time before he could 'kiss
it goodbye.'
But Bolt had other ideas and the determination on his face was clear as he
powered down the home straight before glancing anxiously at the clock as he
crossed the line.
'In order to run 19.30 he has to run the curve better and hold his speed for longer,' Johnson had added earlier. "I didn't think he would run 9.69, but I think he could have run 9.62 if he had run to the finish and tied up his shoes.'
In the final event of the evening, Jamaica's Melaine Walker won gold in the 400m hurdles in a new Olympic record of 52.64s.
Walker powered off the final hurdle to finish comfortably ahead of American Sheena Tosta with Britain's Natasha Danvers putting an injury-plagued season behind her to snatch bronze.
Danvers was almost caught on the line by the fast-finishing Anastasiya Rabchenyuk of Ukraine and waited for confirmation from the giant scoreboard that she had held on to set a new personal best of 53.84.
It was then announced that the American team had launched a protest over Spearmon's disqualification from the 200m final.
OLYMPIC SPRINT DOUBLES
1904 Archie Hahn (United States)
1912 Ralph Craig (United States)
1928 Percy Williams (Canada)
1932 Eddie Tolan (United States)
1936 Jesse Owens (United States)
1956 Bobby Morrow (United States)
1972 Valeriy Borzov (Soviet Union)
1984 Carl Lewis (United States)
2008 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
American great Michael Johnson hailed Usain Bolt's "incredible" achievement.
Johnson set a record of 19.32 seconds at the 1996 Olympics, and it was considered one of the toughest to beat in athletics.
However, Bolt sliced two-hundredths of a second from Johnson's time when winning
his second gold in Beijing in a time of 19.30secs.
'He got an incredible start,' said Johnson on BBC1. 'I looked at Colin Jackson and I said, 'Wow!'.
'It was much more of an amazing start than he got in the 100m and his turn was just absolutely fabulous.
'He wanted that record. This is his favourite event.
'He went for it. He came in here focused on it, knowing most likely he'd win the gold.
'The reason I felt he might not get it here was he wouldn't have been working on speed endurance, the ability to hold that speed for the entire race.
'But he showed that he had been working on that, and was able to bring home 19.30.
'Incredible time, incredible performance by Usain Bolt once again.
'Congratulations Usain.'
Britain's incredible gold rush in the Beijing Olympics continued today as the sensational cyclists smashed a world record and took the overall gold medal haul to the highest total in 88 years.
The four-man team pursuit outfit of Ed Clancy, 23, Paul Manning, 33, Geriant Thomas, 22, and Bradley Wiggins, 28, destroyed their Danish rivals over 4,000 metres in the Laoshan Velodrome to claim Britain's sixth cycling gold.
They achieved a time of 3:53.314 - slashing two seconds off their previous world record.
The win makes the cycling team the single most successful in one sport in British Olympic history with hopes of another four golds to follow over the next three days.
It all took the so-called 'Great Haul of China' from Britain's team to 27 - 12 golds, seven silver and eight bronze - the most golds since the Antwerp Games in 1920.
Importantly too, it also took Britain back up to third in the overall medals table and ahead once again of Australia after three Aussie wins earlier in the day had seen them leapfrog Team GB in the bitter battle for supremecy.
The win was the second gold in Beijing for Wiggins - and his third in all - as he led the British quartet of pursuiters home in front of a Union Jack-waving crowd.
'It's phenomenal,' said Wiggins, from West London, who now has six Olympics medals and goes for gold again on Tuesday.
'We are a fantastic team and we have sacrificed a lot. We came to win and now we have achieved our goal.
'I set out to do that. I believed I could do it. But to put it into practice is another thing. It's such a relief when you do it and cross the line.'
He added: 'What the team is achieving is fantastic but we know there is still more to do.'
Manning, from Stockport, added: 'This is the pinnacle - we have been working on this for the best part of a decade, what a performance.'
Wiggins and fellow cyclist Chris Hoy could both secure a historic hat-trick of Beijing gold medals in races on Tuesday.
In doing so, they would become the first Brits to win three golds in a single Games for 100 years, with swimmer Henry Taylor having secured a treble in 1908.
Among those cheering him on today was Wiggins' wife Cathy, 28, who embraced him at the end.
She said: 'He came here to get three medals and he's not finished yet. It is amazing but it is going to get better.' Wiggins smiled and added: 'I'm greedy, I want three.'
The couple have two children Ben, 3, who already has a BMX bike, and one-year-old Isabella.
Great Britain chef de mission Simon Clegg injected a note of caution to national frenzy, however.
He warned that Britain had more chance of finishing ahead of the Australians in the medals table in London in four years' time than at this Olympics.
Asked whether Britain could 'beat the Aussies', he said: 'I'm convinced we can beat them in London in 2012, whether we can beat them here in Beijing, we've got to wait and see.'
British Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has bet his Australian counterpart Kate Ellis Britain will finish above its old foe - and the loser has to wear the others team's colours at a sporting event in their own country.
Britain is hopeful of another sailing gold on Tuesday after Paul Goodison opened up a massive lead in the Laser class on the waters of Qingdao, 300miles from Beijing.
The 30-year-old, who just missed out on an Olympic medal in Athens four years ago, ensured that he will not suffer similar heartache in Qingdao as he placed first, fourth and sixth in his races to surge 18 points clear of his nearest rival Sweden's Rasmus Myrgren at the top of the standings.
An eighth-place finish in the medal race will give him the gold and the worst he can do now is bronze.
There was another silver today in Qingdao where Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield in the 470 men's class repeated their achievement in Athens by finishing second.
After a gold rush over the weekend, the British team is now on course to beat its target of 41 medals in Beijing, 11 more than in Athens.
Meanwhile, Michael Phelps, winner of a record eight gold medals in Beijing, said he will visit Britain on his way home to attend a party organised by Olympic sponsors in the Mall on August 24 to celebrate the handover of the Games to London.
Phelps, 23, said: 'It will be a great opportunity to celebrate the success of the Beijing Games and to kick-off the countdown to London 2012. I am honoured to be part of this celebration.'
Fellow swimmer and British double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, 19, spoke today of her desire to replicate Phelps' success at the London games in four years.
'Seeing him win that eighth race was absolutely amazing. It was really exciting. He is an amazing swimmer and I definitely look up to him as a role model.
'I can only dream of having the same success as him.'
Her second gold came on a spectacular weekend for Britain, which saw golds in the rowing, swimming and sailing.
The four-man team pursuit outfit of Ed Clancy, 23, Paul Manning, 33, Geriant Thomas, 22, and Bradley Wiggins, 28, destroyed their Danish rivals over 4,000 metres in the Laoshan Velodrome to claim Britain's sixth cycling gold.
They achieved a time of 3:53.314 - slashing two seconds off their previous world record.
The win makes the cycling team the single most successful in one sport in British Olympic history with hopes of another four golds to follow over the next three days.
It all took the so-called 'Great Haul of China' from Britain's team to 27 - 12 golds, seven silver and eight bronze - the most golds since the Antwerp Games in 1920.
Importantly too, it also took Britain back up to third in the overall medals table and ahead once again of Australia after three Aussie wins earlier in the day had seen them leapfrog Team GB in the bitter battle for supremecy.
The win was the second gold in Beijing for Wiggins - and his third in all - as he led the British quartet of pursuiters home in front of a Union Jack-waving crowd.
'It's phenomenal,' said Wiggins, from West London, who now has six Olympics medals and goes for gold again on Tuesday.
'We are a fantastic team and we have sacrificed a lot. We came to win and now we have achieved our goal.
'I set out to do that. I believed I could do it. But to put it into practice is another thing. It's such a relief when you do it and cross the line.'
He added: 'What the team is achieving is fantastic but we know there is still more to do.'
Manning, from Stockport, added: 'This is the pinnacle - we have been working on this for the best part of a decade, what a performance.'
Wiggins and fellow cyclist Chris Hoy could both secure a historic hat-trick of Beijing gold medals in races on Tuesday.
In doing so, they would become the first Brits to win three golds in a single Games for 100 years, with swimmer Henry Taylor having secured a treble in 1908.
Among those cheering him on today was Wiggins' wife Cathy, 28, who embraced him at the end.
She said: 'He came here to get three medals and he's not finished yet. It is amazing but it is going to get better.' Wiggins smiled and added: 'I'm greedy, I want three.'
The couple have two children Ben, 3, who already has a BMX bike, and one-year-old Isabella.
Great Britain chef de mission Simon Clegg injected a note of caution to national frenzy, however.
He warned that Britain had more chance of finishing ahead of the Australians in the medals table in London in four years' time than at this Olympics.
Asked whether Britain could 'beat the Aussies', he said: 'I'm convinced we can beat them in London in 2012, whether we can beat them here in Beijing, we've got to wait and see.'
British Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has bet his Australian counterpart Kate Ellis Britain will finish above its old foe - and the loser has to wear the others team's colours at a sporting event in their own country.
Britain is hopeful of another sailing gold on Tuesday after Paul Goodison opened up a massive lead in the Laser class on the waters of Qingdao, 300miles from Beijing.
The 30-year-old, who just missed out on an Olympic medal in Athens four years ago, ensured that he will not suffer similar heartache in Qingdao as he placed first, fourth and sixth in his races to surge 18 points clear of his nearest rival Sweden's Rasmus Myrgren at the top of the standings.
An eighth-place finish in the medal race will give him the gold and the worst he can do now is bronze.
There was another silver today in Qingdao where Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield in the 470 men's class repeated their achievement in Athens by finishing second.
After a gold rush over the weekend, the British team is now on course to beat its target of 41 medals in Beijing, 11 more than in Athens.
Meanwhile, Michael Phelps, winner of a record eight gold medals in Beijing, said he will visit Britain on his way home to attend a party organised by Olympic sponsors in the Mall on August 24 to celebrate the handover of the Games to London.
Phelps, 23, said: 'It will be a great opportunity to celebrate the success of the Beijing Games and to kick-off the countdown to London 2012. I am honoured to be part of this celebration.'
Fellow swimmer and British double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, 19, spoke today of her desire to replicate Phelps' success at the London games in four years.
'Seeing him win that eighth race was absolutely amazing. It was really exciting. He is an amazing swimmer and I definitely look up to him as a role model.
'I can only dream of having the same success as him.'
Her second gold came on a spectacular weekend for Britain, which saw golds in the rowing, swimming and sailing.
