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GILLIAN ROLTON Two-time Olympic equestrian champion Gillian Rolton has died at the age of 61. Rolton was the first Australian woman to win Olympic and world championship equestrian events. She won her first Olympic gold in team eventing at the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992, and was part of the quartet that defended the title four years later in Atlanta, when she overcame injury to ride Peppermint Grove to glory. ZDRAVKO HEBEL Olympic water polo gold medallist Zdravko Hebel has passed away aged 74. Hebel earned 68 caps for Yugoslavia and was part of the team that won gold at the Olympic Games Mexico City 1968. He later served as Vice-President of the Croatian Olympic Committee from 1991 to 2000, and as President from 2000 to 2002. DAVID POISSON French Alpine skier David Poisson has died, aged 35. Poisson – who finished seventh in the downhill event at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 and 16th four years later in Sochi – was a respected and accomplished athlete on the World Cup circuit, and won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships. ANTONIO SPALLINO Italian fencer and Olympic champion Antonio Spallino has died at the age of 92. Making his Olympic debut in 1952, he won silver in the team foil and went on to win world team titles in 1954 and 1955. At the Olympic Games Melbourne 1956, he won bronze in the individual foil and gold in the team event. After retiring from competition, Spallino worked as a lawyer and later served as mayor of the Italian city of Como. KATALIN SZŐKE Hungarian swimmer Katalin Szőke has passed away, aged 82. Szőke won two gold medals, in the 100m and 4x100m freestyle events, at the Olympic Games Helsinki 1952 and repeated the feat at the 1954 European Championships. She also set four world records during her career and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1985. PAAVO LONKILA Double Olympic medallist Paavo Lonkila has died at the age of 94. Lonkila starred for Finland as a cross-country skier in the 1950s, winning bronze in the 18km and gold in the 4x10km relay at the Olympic Winter Games Oslo 1952. He also formed part of the 4x10km relay team that won silver at the 1950 World Championships in Lake Placid (USA). Multiple world and Olympic weightlifting champion Naim Süleymanoğlu has died at the age of 50. Nicknamed “Pocket Hercules” due to his short stature, Süleymanoğlu became a global star after setting six world records, winning three successive Olympic gold medals for Turkey and out- lifting the winner of the weight class above him at the Olympic Games Seoul 1988. He was named “Best Weightlifter of the Century” by the International Weightlifting Federation. NAIM SÜLEYMANOĞLU JANA NOVOTNÁ Three-time Olympic tennis medallist Jana Novotná has died at the age of 49. The Czech star endeared herself to sports fans around the world as she cried when losing the 1993 Wimbledon final to Steffi Graf, before she eventually won the famed Grand Slam title in 1998. Already a women’s doubles silver medallist at the Olympic Games Seoul 1988, Novotná also won silver and bronze medals at Atlanta 1996, in the women’s doubles and singles events respectively. LUDMILA BELOUSOVA Figure skating legend Ludmila Belousova – a two- time Olympic champion in pairs – has died at the age of 81. Alongside Oleg Protopopov, her husband and long-time skating partner, Belousova captured the gold medal at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Winter Games and also won four world titles and four European titles. They retired from top-level competition in 1972. OLYMPIC REVIEW 81 OBITUARIES