Olympic cycling:Chris Hoy has won a fifth Olympic gold after Great Britain's men's team sprint squad triumphed on a night of high drama at the London 2012 Olympic Velodrome.
After Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were relegated from the team sprint for a takeover infringement, Britain's men's team pursuit trio of Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny progressed to the final of the three-lap team sprint in a world record of 42.747 seconds.
They clocked another world record in a stunning finale, finishing in 42.600secs.
In a repeat of the final four years ago in Beijing, France's Gregory Bauge, Michael D'Almeida and Kevin Sireau had to settle for silver, finishing in 43.013.
The 36-year-old Hoy, from Edinburgh, competing in his fourth Games, won one-kilometre time-trial gold in Athens in 2004, three titles in Beijing and has now drawn level with Steve Redgrave as the Briton with the most Games golds.
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.
Bronze went to Germany (43.209), with world champions Australia (43.355) fourth.
The performance capped a remarkable 24 hours for British cycling after Bradley Wiggins became the first man to win the Tour de France and Olympic gold in the same year with victory in the road time-trial.
Hoy must now wait until Tuesday's final day of the track programme to compete in his second event, the men's keirin, after being overlooked for the sprint, which Kenny is set to start on Saturday.
Hoy is world champion in the keirin.
Germany's Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel won the opening gold of the track cycling programme with victory in the women's team sprint, but only after China were relegated for a takeover offence.
China's Gong Jinjie and Guo Shuang twice set the world record, in qualifying and in the first round, and finished first in the final in 32.619. However, officials ruled the takeover between the pair was illegal and Germany, who clocked 32.798, were promoted to gold.
Australia's Anna Meares and Kaarle McCulloch (32.727) claimed bronze ahead of Ukraine.
It was the second relegation of the event after Varnish and Pendleton were victims of the officials despite setting the second fastest time in the first round.
Earlier, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh laid down the gauntlet to their rivals for team pursuit gold ahead of tomorrow's first round and finals.
The British quartet, who set the world record in winning April's Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne, went 0.796 seconds faster on the opening day of action on the track, clocking three minutes 52.499 seconds.
Australia, Britain's closest rivals in Melbourne, finished more than three seconds behind in advancing to the first round as the second-fastest qualifiers.
Australia's Jack Bobridge, Glenn O'Shea, Rohan Dennis and Michael Hepburn clocked 3mins 55.694secs.