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.)