Lia Manoliu (; 25 April 1932 – 9 January 1998) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

er who won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. She was the first

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete to compete at six Olympics (1952–1972).

Early life; sports and education

As a teenager Manoliu competed at the national level in tennis, table tennis, volleyball and basketball, before turning to throwing events at the age of 16. Two years later she became the first Romanian woman to throw the disc over 40 m (41.44 m, 22 May 1950). In the mid-1950s she graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest.

International career

At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

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, Manoliu finished 6th with a throw of 42.64 m. She bettered this distance in 1956 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, throwing 43.90 m for a ninth-place finish. At the 1960 Olympics in

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, she held the lead after the first round with a throw of 52.36 m, and although she was unable to improve it, the throw was sufficient to earn her the bronze medal. At the 1964 Olympics in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Manoliu was outside the podium after round four, but then she produced a throw of 56.96 m to gain her second Olympic bronze medal. In the winter of 1967–68, the Romanian Athletics Federation informed the 35-year-old Manoliu that she was too old to try for the Olympics again and that she need not bother turning out for their training camp sessions. This only increased her determination, and after months of individual training, she qualified for the

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Olympics. There, she carried an arm injury, and the team doctor warned her that she would not last more than one good throw. Manoliu threw 58.28 m on her first attempt, which proved good enough for the gold medal.Lia Manoliu
sports-reference.com On 19 July 1969, Manoliu won the UK national WAAA discus title at

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, and in 1972, she finished 9th in the discus final at the 1972 Olympics with a throw of 58.50 m.

After retirement

She retired shortly after the 1972 Games, and in 1974 was awarded the UNESCO Fair Play Prize, for her support to the ideals of fair and loyal competition. From 1973 and until her death Manoliu served as vice-president and then as president (since 1990) of the Romanian Olympic Committee. In 1975 she was awarded the Olympic Order in bronze and in 1994 the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

Centennial Trophy. She was a member of the IAAF Women's Committee (1976–1995) and of the Romanian Senate in the 1990–1992 legislature.

Death and legacy

She died of a heart attack in January 1998 after lapsing into a coma during surgery for a brain tumor the week before. She was buried at Bellu Cemetery. Until 2012 The national stadium in Bucharest was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manoliu, Lia Romanian female discus throwers Olympic athletes of Romania Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Romania Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Burials at Bellu Cemetery 1932 births 1998 deaths Members of the Senate of Romania Sportspeople from Chișinău Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Presidents of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee

Early life; sports and education

International career

After retirement

Death and legacy

See also

Further reading

References