This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic.

Just a few weeks ago, Mary Roman was using a local batting cage, as usual, to practice the shot put, one of the many field events at which the 84-year-old senior Olympian excelled.

Her late-in-life athletic success was so great — she once ranked eighth in the world in the weight throw for her age group — that everyone seemed to know her in Fairfield County, Conn.

Another source of good will came from being a fixture in local politics, a Republican who was so beloved by the former Democratic mayor of Norwalk, Alex Knopp, that he kept her on as city clerk when he was elected in 2001.

Mrs. Roman died on Monday at Norwalk Hospital of complications of the coronavirus, her son Craig said.