Avdalyan, a European champion way back in 2008 and world champion in 2009, thought she would never compete again when she suffered horrific injuries in a car crash six years ago.

In the men’s 85kg four of the nine lifters, including both French contestants, failed to register a total.

All three medallists, a Ukrainian and two Romanians, tested positive in 2013 and served two-year doping bans that ended last year.

The winner was Oleksandr Pielieshenko, of Ukraine.

Avdalyan broke several bones, and had surgery on her spine after the motorway crash in April, 2010, five months after she had won World Championships gold in South Korea.

That made her Armenia’s first female world champion in any sport.

After three years of rehabilitation Avdalyan – whose marriage to former lifter Erik Karapetyan was delayed by two years because of her injuries - was told she could start training again.

She returned to competition in last year’s World Championships in Houston, Texas, where she finished 14th.

“We are so proud of her,” said Varvara Hayrapetyan, an official of the Armenia National Olympic Committee who is working with the team.

“She has had so many terrible injuries, she took so long to recover, and she did not do so well in the World Championships.

"This is a huge surprise, and we have had two fantastic days.”

Armenia finished one-two in the men’s 77kg on Wednesday.

Avdalyan’s final clean & jerk of 132kg relegated Darya Pachabut, of Belarus, to second place.

The bronze went to Britain’s Rebekah Tiler, who at 17 became the youngest medallist of the week.

Tiler’s performance was worth 23 Olympic qualifying points, and made sure of Britain’s one place for women in the Rio Games this summer.

That place is expected to go to either Tiler or Commonwealth Games gold medallist Zoe Smith, who was fourth in the 63kg on Wednesday.

“I trained really extra hard for this and I didn’t expect a medal,” said Tiler, who is the European and Commonwealth youth champion.

“My knees are knackered, but that was great.

"I reckon that’s probably my best performance so far.”

Tiler sent a message of thanks back home to her fans who were watching on television, many of them customers of Hewitt’s butchers near Keighley.

When funding for weightlifting was cut in 2014 Tiler’s parents made a plea for sponsors in the local paper and Ian Hewitt answered the call.

“I’ve been sponsoring her in meat for two years, and we’ve become good friends,” said Hewitt yesterday morning.

“Rebekah can have whatever she wants but usually it’s beefsteak and chicken.

“All the customers follow her, we have pictures in the shop, and they will be watching her on television.”

It was a tense, exciting and noisy contest.

The Italian Maria Grazia Alemanno, a screaming bundle of energy with tattoos on her inner right arm and across her back, shouted and growled at the bar before lifting.

She screamed even louder, gesticulating like a goalscorer in a big football match, when the lift was good.

As she made five of her six lifts, it made for a rowdy session.

In the men’s 85kg Giovanni Bardis, of France, was third in the snatch but then failed with all three attempts in the clean & jerk.

Three men went out in the snatch.

The gold, in a messy but exciting contest watched by a full house, went to Pielieshenko when Gabriel Sincraian failed with his final attempt.

That was the 28th “no lift” of the night, as opposed to 19 good ones.

Sincraian was second, and his compatriot Gheorghii Cernei – who represented Moldova when he tested positive three years ago – was third.

Italy’s Antonio Pizzolato took the clean & jerk bronze.