Age, Biography and Wiki

Iolanda Balaș was born on 12 December, 1936 in Timișoara, Romania, is a Romanian high jumper. Discover Iolanda Balaș's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is she in this year and how she spends money? Also learn how she earned most of networth at the age of 80 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation N/A
Age 80 years old
Zodiac Sign Sagittarius
Born 12 December 1936
Birthday 12 December
Birthplace Timișoara, Romania
Date of death 2016
Died Place Bucharest, Romania
Nationality Romania

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 12 December. She is a member of famous jumper with the age 80 years old group.

Iolanda Balaș Height, Weight & Measurements

At 80 years old, Iolanda Balaș height is 1.85 m and Weight 72 kg.

Physical Status
Height 1.85 m
Weight 72 kg
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

She is currently single. She is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about She's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, She has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Husband Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Iolanda Balaș Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Iolanda Balaș worth at the age of 80 years old? Iolanda Balaș’s income source is mostly from being a successful jumper. She is from Romania. We have estimated Iolanda Balaș's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income jumper

Iolanda Balaș Social Network

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Timeline

1936

Iolanda Balaș (, Balázs Jolán, later Balázs-Sőtér Jolán; 12 December 1936 – 11 March 2016) was a Romanian athlete, an Olympic champion and former world record holder in the high jump.

She was the first Romanian woman to win an Olympic gold medal and is considered to have been one of the greatest high jumpers of the twentieth century.

Balaș was born in Timișoara to an ethnic Hungarian family.

Her mother, Etel Bozó was a homemaker, while her father, Frigyes, was originally a locksmith.

Her father served in the Hungarian army until he was captured and brought to the Soviet Union and later back to Hungary, where he settled in Budapest.

1947

Balaș tried to reunite the family and move to Hungary, but although she managed to obtain a Hungarian passport in 1947, she was not allowed to leave Romania.

1953

In 1953 she transferred from Timișoara club "Electrica" to CCA (CSA Steaua).

1956

After finishing fifth in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, she won Olympic gold medals at Rome in 1960 (becoming the first Romanian woman to do so) and Tokyo in 1964.

1957

Nevertheless, between 1957 and 1966, Balaș won 154 consecutive competitions, not including qualifying competitions or exhibitions.

She improved the world record 14 times, from 1.75 m to 1.91 m, and equalled it once outdoors and once indoors.

She was the first woman to jump over six feet.

Her technique was a sophisticated version of the scissors technique.

1961

Her record of 1.91 m, set in 1961, lasted until the end of 1971 (beaten by Ilona Gusenbauer from Austria), when jumpers with a more efficient technique (the straddle technique, and later the Fosbury style) took over.

1964

At the 1964 Olympics she competed with a torn tendon, which forced her later to withdraw from the 1966 European Championships.

1967

After retiring from competition in 1967, Balaș married her former coach Ioan Söter, and taught physical education in Bucharest.

1988

Between 1988 and 2005 she was president of the Romanian Athletics Federation.

1995

She was also a member of the technical committee of the European Athletics Association, and in 1995 was elected to the women's commission of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Balaș was diagnosed with type II diabetes several years before her death and was hospitalized several times after that.

She died following gastric complications at Elias Hospital in Bucharest, Romania, at the age of 79.

She is buried at Ghencea Cemetery in Bucharest.

1999

Balaș was named an honorary citizen of Timișoara (in 1999) and of Bucharest (in 2001).

2000

In 2000, Track & Field News voted Balaș as the best female high jumper of the 20th century.

2005

When asked in an interview in 2005 whether she had ever thought about defection, she said that it had crossed her mind; however, as it could have resulted in serious retaliation against her relatives, she did not want to risk it.

In the interview she said, "I feel sorry that I did not win Olympics for Hungary. But a person represents herself and after that a nation. It was not given for me to bear the Hungarian colors, to make happy those who speak my mother tongue. It evolved this way and I feel sorry for it, but I would have gone mad if I would thought constantly about this contradictory situation. I hope that besides Romanians also Hungarians are proud of me."

Balaș took up athletics owing to her caretaker Luisa Ernst, who was also a retired high jumper.

2010

In 2010, she received the royal decoration "Nihil Sine Deo" for special merits to the Romanian sports from Michael I of Romania, in a ceremony held at the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest, for the way she led the Romanian Athletics Federation and to promote Romanian excellence in sport and young athletes.

2012

She was inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame in 2012.