Adam Peaty has become the first Brit of all-time to retain an Olympic swimming title - before Tom Daley and Matty Lee claimed diving gold just a few hours later.
26-year-old Peaty from Uttoxeter, Staffs, now living and training in Loughborough, brought home our first Gold of the Games in the 100m breaststroke - shortly after Team GB's Alex Yee won silver in the men's triathlon.
Daley and Lee ensured the wait for a second gold did not last long as they edged out China for an emotional win in the men's 10m synchronised diving on a memorable day for Brits in the pool.
And the third gold arrived even quicker as Tom Pidcock won the men's mountain biking less than half an hour after Daley and Lee's win.
Daley, now 27, became Great Britain’s second youngest male Olympian in Beijing. He was the youngest person to win gold at the European Championships earlier that year.
The Devon diver has since won a combined total of 11 World, Commonwealth and European Championship gold medals, one of the finest records in the world, but now finally has the Olympic gold he has craved.
Alongside the impressive Lee, competing in his first Olympics, the pair sparked jubilant scenes with a final score of 471.81 just enough to beat China's 470.85.
Peaty's win was far more straightforward. He did it in 57.37 seconds, the fifth fastest time of all time, from Holland's Arno Kamminga, with bronze going to Italy's Nicole Martinenghi.
He punched the water and held his arms aloft as he celebrated his second Olympic title, smiling as his team mates sang his name.
Peaty swore live on air as he was interviewed just after the race, and apologised saying he was 'very emotional'.
He said: “It takes an athlete to be the best person on the day and who f***ing wants it more.
“It just means the world to me. I thought I had the best preparation but the morning finals changed everything and threw that out of the window.”
He added: “I felt the pressure but I needed to put myself on edge. You can do whatever you want in your own pool but when it comes to being out here it’s not about a time.
“I was racing myself. It wasn’t about the time but the race. I wanted it more. I know they are trying to get me but that’s where the training comes in.
“It’s like the four minute mile - once one person does it others do it. Thanks to the nation for being behind me for five years and my family and my beautiful boy.
“I knew it was going to take every bit of energy and I’m just so f** relieved. Apologies for the swearing!”
His mum Caroline Peaty said on Twitter: "So glad that’s over, blood pressure must be through the roof.
"Our house was so quiet, we couldn’t breath. We are beyond proud, love u loads."
Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair, UK Sport, sent her congratulations to the new Olympic champion.
It was the 100th Gold Medal achieved by Team GB thanks to lottery funding.
She said: “Many congratulations to Adam Peaty for winning the first gold for Team GB at these Olympics. After the challenges of the last 18 months, it is an amazingly special achievement for Adam to become an Olympic champion again and make sports fans across the UK so proud.
“This gold medal is even more special because it is the 100th won by British athletes at the summer and winter Olympics since the creation of the World Class Progamme, funded by National Lottery players.”
Sally Munday, CEO, UK Sport, said: “I send my congratulations to Adam Peaty and I’d also like to send my thanks to every single person who has played The National Lottery in the last quarter of a century.
"Your generosity has helped UK Sport to fund Olympic and Paralympic sport to an unprecedented extent, which in turn has enabled so many of our athletes to achieve their ambitions.
“Adam's performance is another extraordinary sporting moment that will lift the spirits of tens of millions of people in the UK who love to see our athletes excel on the greatest stage. We send our best wishes to all the British athletes and teams competing in Tokyo and hope to see many more such moments in the days ahead.”
It was a just reward for his relentless training regime, in the pool five days a week from 6.30am before a punishing daily weights programme.
Adam also won the Olympic title in the 100m breaststroke five years ago in Rio, the first by a male British swimmer in 24 years.
Current holder of the world record in 50m and 100m breaststroke event, Peaty is now a double Olympic Champion, an eight-time World Champion, 13-time European Champion and a three-time Commonwealth Champion.
But he had just one goal in Tokyo - to make his family, and above all his baby son proud. Adam set the world record at the world championships in Korea in 2019 at 56.88 seconds.
His partner, and mother of their 10-month-old son George, artist Eiri Munro, who nicknames Adam 'Boo', spoke of her pride in him as she stayed up late to watch at home 'on her sofa'.
She said: "I am so so proud of him. I wish I could be there to support and celebrate these monumental life moments with my Boo, I just have to hope he feels all the love we’re sending from the other side of the world.
"This feels like a good moment to thank those who love and support Adam, especially those that do so 365 days a year. You’ve made this journey so wonderfully exciting. It means so much to us."
The silver by Yee was made all the more remarkable by the fact he almost died in a serious accident in which he suffered a punctured lung.
He said after the race: "A bit bizarre really. I'm just a normal guy from south east London. Dreams really do come true. I am just over the moon. I was already deep in the well and dug that little bit in my soul. It wasn't enough for gold.
"But it was enough to get silver." He joked: "Sorry to everyone that I didn't reply to on Instagram. I've had my head down for days but I love you all so much.
"My mum always says it takes a village to build a person,I think it's taken the whole of GB today. Thanks so much."
His 10km run in tough heat couldn't catch Norway's gold medallist, Kristian Blummenfelt. “It hasn’t really sunk in quite yet, it doesn’t feel real like it’s me yet,” said Yee, from Brockley, London. “I still feel like a normal boy from south east London.
"I hope I can serve as inspiration to people to show this is possible. I’m not anything special, I just really enjoy sport and have been really lucky. I think I probably timed the run a bit wrong and left it a bit late to close the gap to Kristian.
"Once I got halfway across it, I think I was pretty cooked and I started to feel the heat. I had a good heat strategy and felt comfortable up to that point, but Kristian was the man on the day.
“I was on the start line with the clarity that I’d done everything I physically could have to get to that line in the best possible shape.
“I’ve had the best possible preparation I could have, I know a lot of people haven’t, so I’m really lucky. Second was the best possible result for me on the day."
Yee follows in some proud Team GB footsteps when it comes to Olympic triathlon. Alistair Brownlee won gold at the previous two Games, while Leeds-based Jonny Brownlee, teammate in Tokyo, won bronze and silver at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Jonny, who finished fifth, said he had given it his all, and paid tribute to Yee's 'unbelievable' form going into the race.
He said: "I've got to be proud of myself. I gave it absolutely everything. I've trained as hard as I could, raced as hard as I could, raced as smartly as I could and that's what I had."
