Hicham El Guerrouj stole the headlines on day 11 of the Games as he finally ended his Olympic hoodoo in the 1500m. The Moroccan, who missed out in 1996 and Sydney four years ago, timed his race perfectly for an emotional gold.
The Olympic stadium also witnessed its first world record of the Games as pole vault gold medallist Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 4.91m.
Britain were also assured two more medals courtesy of boxer Amir Khan and the sailing team's 49er crew.
El Guerrouj looked to have scuppered his bid for 1500m glory when, in the dying stages, he was caught by Kenyan Bernard Lagat. But he pulled clear of his arch rival on the line, while Britain's Michael East was sixth.
The pole vault similarly lit up Athens in a simple head-to-head between Isinbayeva and her Russian team-mate Svetlana Feofanova.
Both women cleared 4.80m, although Isinbayeva only with her final attempt. She then snatched gold with a vault of 4.85m before clinching the world record.
There was bright news for Britain in the boxing ring when sole representative Khan guaranteed himself at least a bronze after a stunning win over South Korea's Baik Jong-sub in just one minute and 37 seconds.
Elsewhere, Britain were assured a bronze at the very least in sailing's 49er class through Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks. The pair lie third with one race left but have a slim chance of gold.
And there could yet be another medal after Nick Skelton and Robert Smith both qualified for Friday's individual showjumping final.
Another Brit, Dean Macey, had to make do with fourth place in the decathlon despite an impressive 1500m run.
His medal hopes were dashed following a poor 4.40m in the pole vault. The gold went to Roman Sebrele, who broke Daley Thompson's Olympic record in the process.
A further bid for British glory fell flat when medal hopeful Chris Newton pulled out halfway through the cycling points race on Tuesday. Gold went to Russian Mikhail Ignatyev.
Back in the Olympic stadium, there were dramatic scenes as favourite Perdita Felicien fell at the first barrier in the 100m hurdles, taking Irina Shevchenko with her.
American Joanna Hayes then sprinted off for victory in a time of 12.37 seconds, but Shevchenko has since appealed.
The crowd were then treated to an enthralling 400m final in which Tonique Williams-Darling, of the Bahamas, outsprinted Mexican Ana Guevara to the line.
In the first athletics final on day 11 - the 3000m steeplechase - Ezekiel Kemboi headed up a Kenyan one-two-three.
Earlier, Olympic 800m champion Kelly Holmes qualified for Thursday's semi-finals of the 1500m after finishing second in her heat.
Holmes' team-mate Hayley Tullett joined her there after finishing as a fastest loser, but Jo Pavey failed to make the grade.
It proved a strong night for Britain's women as Abi Oyepitan booked her place in the final with third place in her semi-final.
Chris Rawlinson, a British hope for a medal in the men's 400m hurdles, had a disastrous semi-final and finished last. Defending champion Angelo Taylor also crashed out, while favourite for gold Felix Sanchez set the standard.
Shawn Crawford set the standard in the 200m heats with his run of 19.95s, while Britain's Darren Campbell and Christian Malcolm joined him in the semi-finals as fastest losers.
The men's football final will be played out between Argentina and Paraguay. The Argentinians beat Italy 3-0, while Paraguay were 3-1 winners over Iraq.
The shock of the day came in the baseball tournament when Australia defeated Games favourites Japan 1-0.
Day 11, however, did not escape controversy when Hungary's Robert Fazekas became the second gold medallist of the Games to be stripped of a title.
The discus champion was apparently caught trying to switch his urine sample during a mandatory drugs test following his victory on Monday.
MMIX
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