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

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

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

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

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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 (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

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

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 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. Manoliu won the British WAAA Championships title in the discus throw event at the 1963 WAAA Championships. At the 1964 Olympics in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 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 is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

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 the 1969 WAAA Championships at Crystal Palace and finished second behind Brenda Bedford in the shot put event. 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 The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Tradit ...

in bronze and in 1994 the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

Centennial Trophy. She was a member of the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

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 Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

in Bucharest was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manoliu, Lia 1932 births 1998 deaths Romanian female discus throwers Olympic athletes for Romania Athletes from Chișinău Politehnica University of Bucharest alumni 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 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 Members of the Senate of Romania Burials at Bellu Cemetery 20th-century Romanian sportswomen

Early life; sports and education

International career

After retirement

Death and legacy

See also

Further reading

References