Bahrain's Rashid Ramzi won the men's 1,500 metres, Christine Ohuruogu struck gold for Britain in the 400m and American Dawn Harper won a dramatic 100m hurdles on a superlative night's action in the Bird's Nest yesterday.
There were also golds for Russia's Andrey Silnov in the high jump and Estonia's Gerd Kanter in the discus, while Usain Bolt cruised into the 200 metres final in ominously good shape.
The sport's marquee middle-distance race had been expected to go back to Kenya but Ramzi, who did the 800-1,500m double at the 2005 world championships, had other ideas.
The Morocco-born 28-year-old tracked the leaders until 250 to go before driving for home to win Bahrain's first-ever medal in three minutes, 32.94 seconds.
Kenya's Asbel Kiprop took silver with Nicholas Willis getting a surprise bronze for New Zealand.
Ohuruogu won the world championship last year when Sanya Richards was absent through illness and everyone expected the American to restore her global supremacy in Beijing.
That looked to be the case as she led into the home straight. However, she began to tire, later saying her hamstring tightened, and the powerful Ohuruogu surged through from fourth place with 40m to go to take gold in 49.62 seconds.
Shericka Williams continued Jamaica's hot streak with silver and Richards had to settle for bronze.
"I'm just so proud of myself," said Ohuruogo who had to overturn a British Olympic Association lifetime ban after she was given a year's suspension in 2006 for missing three doping tests.
"You always have these dreams about winning but you never think your dreams will be reality."
Richards could only lament: "I knew that gold was mine. I feel so betrayed by my body."
There was even more drama in the women's sprint hurdles as favourite Lolo Jones led until she was stopped in her tracks by the penultimate barrier, allowing unheralded team mate Harper to come through.
Sally McLellan took silver for Australia after finishing in the same 12.64-seconds as bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada.
"You hit a hurdle about twice a year where it affects your race. It's just a shame that it was on the biggest race of my life," said Jones. "Today I crashed and burned."
Silnov triumphed with a failure-free 2.36 metres ahead of Britain's Germaine Mason and Russia's Yaroslav Rybakov.
Kanter took the discus with 68.82 metres ahead of Poland's Piotr Malachowski and Lithuania's Virgilijus Alekna, the gold medal winner in the last two Games.
The Estonian then had the crowd roaring when he trundled his bulky frame down the 100 metres track and crossed the line with an imitation of Bolt's "archer" celebration.
Earlier, the man himself moved to within 20 seconds of completing the sprint double after another awesome display in the 200 metres semi-finals.
The lanky Jamaican cruised home in 20.09 with defending champion Shawn Crawford in his wake.
"I wouldn't say jogging, I was just trying to get through," he said when asked about his relaxed second 100.
There should be yet another US-Jamaica showdown in the women's 200 after all six of their athletes went through strongly to the semi-finals.
World record holder Dayron Robles made assured progress to the semi-finals of the men's 110m hurdles.
The race has lost much of his dramatic appeal following the first-round exits of China's defending champion Liu Xiang and double silver medallist Terrence Trammell but Shi Dongpeng maintained home interest when he sneaked into the semi-finals .
In the 400m final, the US will have another chance for a podium sweep after defending champion Jeremy Wariner and arch-rival LaShawn Merritt led the qualifiers.
Today's programme includes the finals of the men's 200, women's 400 metres hurdles and hammer as well as the semi-finals of the tightly-contested women's 200m.