Paula Ivan is a former Romanian athlete and Olympic champion. In 1987 Ivan won golds at both 1500m and 3000m at the Universiade in Zagreb. Later the same year at the World Championships held in Rome she did not advance past the heats of the same events. In July 1988 she won the 800m and 1500m at the Balkan Games in Ankara, winning 800m in career best time of 1:56.42. On 27 July at Verona Ivan broke the 4-minute mark over 1500m for the first time in career, clocking 3:58.80, improving to 3:56.22 when winning in Zurich on 17 August. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea she won the Silver medal in her first event, the 3000m, and then Gold in the 1500m final held six days later. In the latter event her winning time, 3:53.96, was a new Olympic record. In 1989 Ivan won the 1500m at the European Indoor Championships in Den Haag, in a time of 4:07.16. Later that year, outdoors, she broke the world record for the mile with a time of 4:15.61. She repeated her 1500m/3000m golden double at the Universiade in Duisburg in August and then won the 1500m at the IAAF World Cup in Barcelona in September. She then retired from the sport to become a coach. 

July 20th, 1963 in Her??ti (Age 61)