On an evening fittingly billed as "Thriller Thursday", a deafening crowd created the most electric atmosphere of the Games so far as the athletes took to the start line at the magnificent Olympic Stadium.

As they settled to start, spontaneous chants of "Pea-cock, Pea-cock, Pea-cock," suddenly erupted amongst the 80,000 crowd in support of the 19-year-old single-leg amputee from Cambridge, causing all eight sprinters to stand up and reset as the announcer called for quiet.

The tension only grew as Brazil's Alan Oliveira, who had controversially won the 200m amid complaints from Pistorius that his blades were too long, false started in a move that created a huge gasp that rippled around the venue.

After a green card, which served as a warning, the athletes took to their blocks again and at the second time of asking, they were off.

So much of the talk before the race had focused on whether Peacock could handle the huge pressure of the occasion but he answered that question emphatically as he stormed out of the blocks and managed to maintain his lead through to stop the clock in 10.90sec.

"This is absolutely amazing," said Peacock, who had his right leg amputated below the knee when he was five-years-old due to meningitis.

"To go in front of so many people here was crazy.

"I hadn't been able to sleep in the three nights before this.

"This will live with me forever, I could not have wished for better.

"It is such a relief because the last year has just been one huge build-up."


Richard Brown of the United States took a surprising silver in 11.03 while South Africa's Arnu Fourie claimed bronze in 11.08.

It meant that defending champion Pistorius, the centre of so much controversy at these Games after criticising Oliveira's overly long blades following his loss to the Brazilian in the 200m, had to settle for fourth.

Pistorius therefore only has a relay gold and a 200m individual silver to his name from London 2012 so far.

Pistorius, though, was magnanimous in defeat, praising Peacock in stark contrast to his interview following his 200m loss to Oliveira.

"I am a proud Paralympian and I want to see my sport grow" said the South African, who goes into his final event, the 400m, as overwhelming favourite for victory.

"That's what happened here tonight.

"We have had the fastest final ever watched by more people around the world than ever before."

Elsewhere America's Blake Leeper finished fifth with his compatriot Jerome Singleton, the reigning world champion and one of the pre-race favourites, down in a surprising sixth place.

Oliveira took seventh while China's Zhiming Liu completed the filed in eight but it was an evening that belonged to Peacock.

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