Outside of her native Romania, Iolanda Balas' name and athletic accomplishments weren't common knowledge to a large segment of the global population in recent years.
But her death at age 79, on March 11 in Bucharest, brought forth greater recognition of who she was — an Olympic legend. A two-time gold medalist who soared to victory No. 2 at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
Balas, a high jumper, was one of the greatest athletes in the 20th century — actually, any century, to be precise. (In 2012, she, was inducted into the IAAF's inaugural Hall of Fame class.)
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.