Greatest Volleyball Player Ever. She Collapsed at Age 31 and Changed Everything.

Описание: On January 24, 1986, Flo Hyman walked off a volleyball court in Japan and never came back. The greatest female volleyball player in the world collapsed during a routine substitution. She was 31 years old. An autopsy revealed she'd been living with a genetic time bomb in her chest her entire life: Marfan syndrome.
But her story isn't about tragedy. It's about transformation.
Born in 1954 in Los Angeles, Flo Hyman became the first female athlete to receive a scholarship at the University of Houston. She broke every barrier placed in front of her. By 1984, she captained the U.S. women's volleyball team to an Olympic silver medal—the first medal the team had ever won. Sports Illustrated compared her spike to Julius Erving's slam dunk. She testified before Congress fighting for Title IX equality.
When she died, the sports world was shattered. But what happened next proved her legacy extended far beyond volleyball. Her family got tested for Marfan syndrome. Her brother Michael had the condition. He underwent life-saving open-heart surgery. Sports Illustrated published her story. Doctors across America began screening tall athletes. Lives were saved.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan established National Girls and Women in Sports Day in her honor. In 1988, she was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Statues were erected worldwide with her exact height—6'5"—carved in stone.
Flo Hyman didn't just play volleyball. She fought for women's right to compete. She advocated for equality when it cost her. And even in death, she saved lives and inspired a generation.
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