Turkey's Nurcan Taylan pipped China's
Li Zhuo to the first weightlifting gold courtesy of a world record effort in the 48 kg class.
Nurcan was expected to claim silver
Nurcan combined a world record 97.5 kg in the snatch and 112.5 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 210 kg.
Li had been favourite to win but had to settle for silver with a combined total of 205 kg (92.5 and 112.5).
Thailand's Aree Wiratthaworn took bronze with 200 kg, while Myanmar's Aye Khine Nan finished in fourth.
Taylan also earned the honour of becoming the first Turkish woman to win Olympic gold.
"Naturally it makes me happy, it is the first victory for a woman and I dedicate it to the Turkish nation," said Taylan, whose snatch added a hefty 4 kg to Li's previous world record.
"I stopped the time. It was too long without a gold medal."