Britain's Rio 2016 bronze medallist Sophie Hitchon also revelled in the atmosphere as she finished second with a season's best of 73.48 on home soil.

Meanwhile, Britain's team captain Lorraine Ugen led from the front as she earned a maximum eight points in the women's long jump.

After her disappointing performance at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on July 5, where she finished seventh and last with 6.48, the woman who leads this season's world lists with 7.05 came good to win with 6.86.

Quanesha Burks earned seven points for the United States as she finished second with 6.48.

The Athletics World Cup is a two-day team-based international competition inaugurated this year which is featuring eight individual nations - China, France, Germany, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Jamaica, Poland, South Africa and the US.

Each nation enters one male or female into each event, with winners earning eight points down to last place, which earns a single point.

After the first evening of competition, the US team leads with 109 points from France, who have 85, and Poland, who have 77, as do Jamaica.

Hosts Great Britain and Northern Ireland stand three points further back in fifth position.

No races over 1,500 metres will be held, and no road events or multi-events are on the programme.

The competition will focus on an overall team prize, The Platinum Trophy, and platinum team medals, but individual gold, silver and bronze medals will also be awarded in each individual event.

While the event is organised outside of the official International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) structures, the IAAF has expressed support notwithstanding the existence of its own four-yearly IAAF Continental Cup event, which next takes place in Ostrava from September 8 to 9.

On June 20 this year, Sky Sports were announced as the host broadcaster within the UK and Ireland.

Each nation is competing for a prize pool of $2 million (£1.4 million/€1.6 million).

"The Athletics World Cup London 2018 will be one of the biggest athletics events in 2018 and as such we're thrilled to be able to launch it at the London Stadium," said Richard Bowker, the chair of UK Athletics, when the event was announced in February.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe has claimed it would be "fast-paced and exhilarating".

"This is one of the exciting innovative events we are seeing in our sport and our thanks go to British Athletics and the Mayor of London for creating it and hosting it," he added. 

France's Pascal Martinot-Lagarde also responded well to his surroundings as he won the 110m hurdles in a season's best of 13.22sec from Jamaica's Ronald Levy, recovered from the hamstring problem that put him out of last week's IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, who was second in 13.30.

The first track event of the night, the women's 400m hurdles, saw an expected win for Jamaica's Commonwealth champion Janieve Russell, who clocked 55.10, with Britain's Meghan Beesley second in 55.90.

There was similar expectation on Russell's fellow countryman Fedrick Dacres, who heads this year's world lists in the discus with a personal best of 69.67m - and he lived up to it as he won with 65.32 from South Africa's Victor Hogan, who threw 63.73.

Another maximum points tally for Jamaica was soon provided by Stephanie Ann McPherson, who won the women's 400m in 50.98.

Zhenye Xie provided China with a maximum haul in the men's 200m, which he won in 20.25.

There was early satisfaction for the home supporters as Holly Bradshaw won the first scheduled event for Britain, the women's pole vault, with a season's best of 4.75m from Katie Nageotte of the US, who cleared 4.68.

Poland's up and coming shot put talent Michal Haratyk produced a winning effort of 21.95m that was just 13cm short of the personal best he produced earlier this season.

IAAF Diamond League champion Darrell Hill took second place for the US with a best of 21.43.

Haratyk’s fellow countryman Karol Hoffman contributed another eight points to their joint cause as he won the men's triple jump with a season's best of 16.74m.

And there were eight more points for Poland in the women's 1,500m, where Sofia Ennaoui won in 4min 7.66sec.

There was a flurry of late maximums for the US.

Clayton Murphy finished first in the men's 800m in 1:46.52 in front of Poland's world indoor champion Adam Kszczot, who clocked 1:46.98, and Ashley Henderson, who won the women's 100m in 11.07, held off Jamaica's 100 and 200m Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, who clocked 11.09.

The two relays that concluded the track action on day one were also won by the US, whose women won their 4x400m in a season's best of 3:24.28, finishing just one hundredth of a second ahead of Jamaica, and whose men won the 4x100m in 38.42, 0.10 ahead of their Jamaican rivals.

And while the first of the two concluding field events saw South Africa's Sunette Viljoen win the women's javelin in 61.69m, the last - the men’s high jump - ended with victory for US athlete Jeron Robinson, who cleared 2.30m.

The event concludes tomorrow evening with another 17 finals.