The 31-year-old Surrey doctor, who is based in Nottingham, led from the start and comfortably held off Norway's defending champion Eirik Larsen.

 

A bronze medallist in the same event at the Sydney Games in 2000, Brabants finished fifth in Athens four years later before taking a year out of the sport to concentrate on medical career.

Since returning to competition he has gone from strength to strength, and as current European and world champion over the 1000m distance, went into the race as favourite and stamped his authority all over it and he crossed the line a second ahead of Larsen.

 

Brabants said: "It's incredible, absolutely incredible.

 

"The race went 100 per cent to plan.

 

"I need to thank my coach Eric Farrell for 15 years of coaching and now I am Olympic champion.

"I've had a great season and to finish it up with the most enjoyable race I've ever had is fantastic.

 

"When you realise that you have crossed the line first you don't feel tired.

 

"All the build up of lactic acid is gone.

"London is definitely on the cards now.

 

"Don't be surprised to see me in London ready to represent Great Britain again."

Brabants will now line up for the 500m event tomorrow confident of adding another medal.

 

He said: "I'm ultra motivated now."

 

It was Britain's 18th medal of the Olympics and kept them in third place in the overall medals table behind super-powers China and United.

 

It made up for the disappointment earlier in the day when Shanaze Reade missed out on a medal when she fell on the final corner of the BMX final and suffered her first defeat for three years.

 

The 19-year-old from Crewe had already suffered a fall in the qualifying round on Wednesday and then again in the first of her three semi-final runs, but picked herself up to qualify for the final.

 

Reade said: "I'm hurting.

 

"I think I might have broken my hand and I'm cut all over."

 

She was in second place behind France's Anne-Caroline Chausson when she tried to overtake her on the inside but clipped the back of her rival and fell.

 

Reade said: "I'm only 19, there's so much more to come from me as an athlete.

 

"I feel like I might not want to see my bike for a while.

 

"I just caught the back wheel and went over.

 

"But I put everything into this race.

 

"I've fallen off and got back up, I've fallen off and got back up.

 

"I gave it my heart and everything, but today it wasn't good enough.

 

 

"I gave it the best shot I had and I didn't have any more."