Lia Manoliu

Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. She competed as a discus thrower in six consecutive Summer Olympic Games, making her the first track and field athlete to do so. Born in Chişinău in what was then in the Kingdom of Romania (now Moldova), she first competed in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland as part of Romania’s Olympic team, but did not medal. She would not medal at the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne, Australia, but in the 1960 Games in Rome, Italy she won the Bronze Medal. In 1964 in Tokyo, Japan she again won the Bronze. Informed by the Romanian Olympic Committee she was too old to compete in the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, Mexico, she trained despite this and qualified for the team. She would go on to throw the discus for a then-Olympic Record 58.28 meters, good enough for the Gold Medal. She would compete in the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany before retiring. She served from 1990 until he death in 1998 as President of the Romanian Olympic Committe