If you were a child of the '80s, you thought the colors red, white and blue were a great idea for a hair color. The Cure didn't refer to a disease, but a rockin' band. And jelly wasn't a condiment, but a popular pair of shoes you could find in a variety of colors. Yes, the '80s were a different time.
The '80s were such a unique period in history that you saw public persona and acceptance change dramatically. An ex-movie star, (Ronald Reagan) became an American president. A man dressed in full drag and wearing dreads (Boy George) became a fashion icon. And women everywhere were showing up BIG in sports, especially within the arena of track and field.
In the '80s, women all over the world were running around the track faster than ever. Lyudmila Veselkova, Ella Kovacs and Mary Slaney all won medals due to their speed and agility. They were the new role models for little girls everywhere and a source of inspiration proving that being female was not a detriment in sports. Yes, in the '80s, it was a great time for a woman to own a pair of shorts and track shoes. So who is an unsung hero of this period? Doina Melinte.
Doina Ofelia Melinte is a Romanian woman who shined brightly in the area of track and field during the '80s and early '90s. Although you won't find her picture in the pages of any fashion magazine or on a TV show reminiscing on the '80s, you will see her name under the "Athletes" section of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Web. It is the first sign that you are looking at the legacy of a woman who took her sport seriously and fought hard to get her name in the history books. What was her biggest feat? Breaking two world records on the same day.
It isn't often that you hear about any athlete breaking a world record, but two on the same day? This feat is what separates Doina Melinte from several other female and male athletes. She showed the world what a person could do with a bit of determination and '80s vigor. Well, let's qualify that last statement.
Doina Melinte actual broke the two world records in running on the same day on February 9, 1990. Yet, it was an offshoot of all of her success as a track star in the 1980s. In the 1980s, she was also able to break records and win two gold medals. With this winning past and a lot of training, she broke into the 1990s to do her most memorable feat. While running indoors in East Rutherford, New Jersey, she ran the 1500 m in 4:00.27 and the 1 m in 4:17.14. Both times were records breaking runs thus re-establishing her name as a top athlete. From this point on, she would have one more memorable year in running and fade into the history books. So where is she now?
Today, at age 53, Melinte is back in Romania. What she is doing with all of her time is not readily available. However, I actually imagine her sitting on a beach, sipping a cool fruity drink and encouraging other athletes to aspire to greatness. While joking about the time she sprayed her hair pink, she's probably telling other young runners not to let the confines of society pin them in because you will never know what you can actually do until the whistle blows and your feet hit the track.
Sources:
http://www.canoe.ca/Track/track_records.html
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=ROU/athcode=61238/index.html
Records, running
