First Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal dead at 90

Trebisonda "Ondina" Valla, the 80-meter hurdles champion at the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin, died of natural causes in her hometown of L'Aquila, Italy. Valla tied a world record when she ran the 80-meter hurdles (no longer an Olympic event) in 11.6 seconds in the semifinals at the Berlin Games. She won the final in the event in 11.7 seconds, with four athletes rushing together at the finish line. A photo finish picture was needed to award the silver and bronze medals. Valla's life-long rival, Claudia Testoni, finished fourth, without a medal. Valla set 21 Italian records during her career until back problems forced her retirement in the early 1940s. She was 90.

Sources: Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, Time.com