In cold wind and driving rain, the world champion maintained her discipline over all ten flights of hurdles and, crucially, in her dip for the line which saw her finish 0.02 seconds clear of defending champion Dawn Harper of America in an Olympic record of 12.35sec.

To run such a time in such conditions said everything about the thoroughness of Pearson's (pictured above) preparations – much of which have taken place on the track at Tonbridge School in Kent, where she has been staying with her aunt.

How Britain's head coach Charles van Commenee must be wishing this talent could have been roped into his team for these Games.

But as Pearson remarked with a smile when asked last month if she would consider swapping nationalities: "I live on the Gold Coast, why would I move here [to Britain]?

"I get the sun and the heat every single day, even in winter."

If the conditions in Stratford were a world away from the Gold Coast, Pearson's application remained constant.

While Harper's final lunge left her off balance, arms flailing, staggering, Pearson's dip was as controlled as her every other movement in the previous 12 seconds – and as effective.

Sally Pearson (lane seven) wins the woman's 100m hurdles ahead of Dawn Harper (lane four) at the Olympic Stadium

Harper's 12.37 was a personal best, as was the 12.48 recorded by her United States teammate Kellie Wells in securing bronze.

Wells had appeared to be Pearson's main rival after inflicting what was only her second defeat in 34 races at last month's Samsung Diamond League meeting in London – and that other defeat had been due to a heavy fall in the Brussels Diamond League finale.

"Winning at the Olympics has been a dream of mine for 12 years since I saw Cathy Freeman take gold in the Sydney 400m [in 2000]," Pearson said, adding that her next ambition was more prosaic: "I just want to have a cheeseburger."

Pearson's record meant she had arrived in the Olympic Stadium as one of the strongest favourites to win gold – an unenviable position which she dealt with in ideal fashion.

Having offered a clear statement of intent by winning her semi-final in a 2012 best time of 12.39, Pearson, silver medallist at Beijing 2008 behind Harper, duly reversed the top order.

However, she, along with the rest of the field, had to stand uncertainly in the steady rain before confirmation of her victory came up on the board.

It was a fiercely competitive affair.

Ehsan Hadadi takes Iran's first Olympic athletics medal in the discus

The men's discus gold went, as expected, to Germany's Robert Harting, who has won the last three world titles, but never an Olympic medal until his fifth round effort of 68.27 metres, just nine centimetres better than the effort which had given Iran's Ehsan Hadadi an unexpected first round lead.

But in taking silver, Hadadi was making Olympic history for his country as he became their 59th Olympic medallist – and their first ever in a sport outside wrestling, weightlifting or taekwondo since their inclusion in the last London Games of 1948.

Hadadi's effort came shortly after Ghasem Gholamreza Rezaei had secured Iran's third wrestling gold of the 2012 Games at ExCeL.

Harting, noted as a bit of a wild man, careered off as Hadadi's final, fouled effort left him golden.

With the German flag draped around his bare and mountainous shoulders, the jolly giant cleared nine of the ten barriers laid out for the women's 100m hurdles final as if they were toy models, veering away before the last rank as the photographers got their fill.

Robert Harting celebrates by jumping a hurdle after winning gold in the men's discus throw

Perhaps the discus-hurdles will become a new Olympic multi-event.

Russia's Ivan Ukhov, who earned a "strong warning" from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) four years ago for being drunk during a competition, was a thoroughly good boy tonight as he secured gold in the high jump with a first-time clearance of 2.38m.

London 2012's leading performer sustained his level of performance to defeat Erik Kynard of the United States, who took silver with a clearance of 2.33.

Home jumper Robbie Grabarz earned a share of bronze with Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Derek Drouin of Canada after clearing 2.29.

Grabarz, the European champion, thus contributed the medal which took the host nation to a total of 48 at these Games – one more than they achieved in Beijing.

Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, defending an Olympic 1500m he had inherited after the disqualification of Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain for a doping infringement, finished 12th and last in a tactical final where he had never challenged the lead.

"I had a hamstring pain and I could not manage," Kiprop said.

"It happened before I left Kenya."

Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria secured gold, in front of a crowd that included Sir Roger Bannister, after breaking clear around the final bend and maintaining his lead to finish in 3min 34.08sec ahead of Leonel Manzano of the United States, who clocked 3:34.79, and Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco, who recorded 3:35.13.

Taoufik Makhloufi leads the field as it comes around the final bend of the 1500m

The Algerian, who says he is carrying a leg injury which may require surgery, had been initially disqualified from the Games for not providing a "bona fide effort" in a men's 800m heat from which his country had failed to withdraw him after he had reached the 1,500m final.

Makhloufi ran only half a lap before walking off, triggering the ban, but was reinstated after providing medical evidence that he had been unwell before his race.

He looked okay tonight.

"It was the will of God," he said.

"Yesterday I was out.

"Today I was in."

Commenting on the presence of the Algerian in the field, Kiprop said: "He should have been allowed to run.

"It was not a big offence."

The morning session had seen the early exit of two men whose challenge for Olympic glory here had been cruelly undermined by injury – China's 29-year-old former world 110m hurdles record holder and 2004 Olympic champion Liu Xiang and Britain's former world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu.

Liu's exit from the opening heat after crashing into the first hurdle and hopping painfully down the track to guard his injured right leg was as traumatic in its way as his early departure at the Beijing Games, where his desire to defend his title in front of a vast and adoring home crowd was rendered impossible by an Achilles tendon injury.

It was that same problem on his right leg which had hindered his preparations here, just a year after he had been effectively denied a world title by being hampered in the run-in at Daegu by the arm of Cuba's world record holder Dayron Robles, whose subsequent disqualification left Jason Richardson of the United States as the winner.

Liu, who transferred swiftly to a wheelchair after being supported both physically and morally by a respectful field of fellow hurdlers, remained stoic in his moment of torment – although tears flowed at home, even from the television commentators.

Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, admitted that his athlete, who pulled out of the London meeting with a back problem, had struggled with the old injury at his training camp in Germany.

Balázs Baji raises the arm of Liu Xiang after his fall during the men's 110m hurdles

When the Chinese athlete's arm was held aloft by Balázs Baji of Hungary it drew a sympathetic round of applause from the almost capacity crowd.

"I regard him as the best hurdler in history and I have so much respect for him," said Britain's world bronze medallist Andy Turner, who also provided a shoulder of support for his Chinese rival.

"He's a nice guy and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

"I saw him warming up and noticed that he had an Achilles problem."

The departure earlier in the day of Britain's Olympic triple jump silver medallist of 2008 brought what has been a puzzling and controversial saga to a predictable end.

Idowu, as was obvious, was not fit, and has not been properly fit since he pulled out midway through the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Eugene in June.

Despite his own increasingly independent efforts to get himself into a position to challenge at the home Games – UK Athletics' head coach Van Commenee had said his medal chances would suffer after he "went missing" from the Team GB training camp in Portugal – he arrived in the stadium without a background of competitive practice and in the end this proved insurmountable.

Phillips Idowu competes in the London 2012 men's triple jump

Idowu managed a best of 16.53m, which left him nine centimetres short off going through.

"That wasn't me out there," he said.

"Regardless of my achievement, I was never going to finish these Games.

"Normally I would jump that off eight strides.

"I'm guessing I will need surgery at the end of the season.

"I'll call it a day and wrap up the season."

There was a similar tale of woe for Idowu's tearful teammate Goldie Sayers, fourth in the Beijing Games javelin final, who was unable to register a scoring effort because of an elbow injury she had sustained during the pre-Games Samsung League meeting in London, where she had raised her British record to 66.17m.

"I caught a nerve in warm-up and I couldn't feel my hand," she said.

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