Toma, continental champion for the past three years, screamed with delight and looked happier than ever as she broke her own European snatch record, and also set new marks in the clean and jerk and total as she made all six lifts in the 64 kilograms category. 

Her total of 249kg made up of 113 and 136 has been bettered only by Deng Wei of China and Rim Un Sim of North Korea in qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

"She has worked really hard for this - the Olympic Games are very close for her now," said Alex Padure, secretary general of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation.

With Toma certain to make it to Tokyo 2020 via qualifying, the only doubt now is whether Romania will be allowed to compete.

Four Romanians - the entire team of three men one woman - came up positive for anabolic steroids in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) retests of stored samples from London 2012.

Under the "Tbilisi Decision" taken by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in 2017, any nation with three or more positives in the IOC retests from 2008 and 2012 is liable to a one-year ban.

All four of Romania’s violations were announced in the past 10 months, after nine other nations had already served a one-year suspension in 2017-2018 for having three or more IOC positives.

"We will have to wait and see what happens," said Padure.

The athletes who finished second, third and fourth behind Toma all made career-best totals too.

Runner-up Maude Charron of Canada made 235kg to enhance her Tokyo 2020 chances, while third place went to the Italian Giorgia Bordignon with 225kg.

In fourth place was Marina Rodriguez, the only Cuban woman ever to have competed at the Olympic Games.

Rodriguez, who beat her previous best with 224kg, was eighth at Rio 2016 and may not be alone if she makes it to Tokyo 2020.

Ludia Montero, who became Cuba’s first IWF World Championships female medallist when she took silver at 45kg last year, finished fifth in the 49kg Olympic class in Rome and has a chance of qualifying.

Further back in the 64kg were Britain's Sarah Davies with 217kg and Zoe Smith 199kg, both of whom are well in contention to qualify and are expected to go for bigger totals in the European Championships in Moscow in April.

Italy is hoping to qualify five lifters for Tokyo 2020, their largest team in Olympic weightlifting history.

Two Italian men won earlier events: Mirko Zanni with 305kg in the 67kg and European champion Antonino Pizzolato with 355kg in the 81kg.

The United States remain on course to qualify a maximum team of eight after some good performances in Rome.

Harrison Maurus made a return to form in the 81kg, finishing two kilograms behind Pizzolato, while Jourdain Delacruz has been the star of the show for the Americans.

Delacruz broke the Pan American record total in the women’s 49kg with 195kg, the highest total in this or the old 48kg category by a non-Asian since 2010.

The main attraction tomorrow is Eileen Cikamatana, the former Fiji champion who now lifts for Australia.

Cikamatana, a multiple junior world record holder who will lift in the 81kg class, has a far bigger entry at 270kg than all 10 lifters in the 87kg in Rome, while only one of the super-heavyweights has entered a higher total.