The Tokyo Olympics were the most
important sports event of the year 2021. Although held one year later than
scheduled, the competitions were by no means less spectacular. New records were
set, new champions emerged, while some of the old ones reconfirmed their worth.
In Tokyo, Romania’s delegation went
up on the Olympic podium 4 times, with rowing occasioning 3 of these instances.
The most valuable medals were won by the women’s double sculls team made up of Simona
Radiș and Ancuța Bodnar, winners of the Olympic gold. Silver medals went to Mihăiţă
Ţigănescu, Mugurel Semciuc, Ştefan Berariu and Cosmin Pascari in the men’s coxless
four event, and to Ciprian Tudosă and Marius Cozmiuc for the coxless pair event.
The only individual medal was won in
fencing, where veteran Ana-Maria Popescu won the silver in the epee final.
Thanks to these performances, Radio
Romania International designates Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona
Radiş as Athletes of the Year 2021.
In the double sculls final, Bodnar and
Radiş won by a comfortable margin, after having led the race from beginning to
the end. Second came the rowers of New Zealand and the Netherlands. The Romanian
team finished in 6:41:03, a new Olympic record over 3 seconds better than the
previous one, set in London in 2012 by Britain’s team.
Ancuţa Bodnar was born on 25th September 1998, in
the village of Vatra Moldoviţei in Suceava County (north). She races for the
Bucharest club Dinamo. Simona Radiş is a few months younger: born on 5th
April 1999, in Botoşani (also in the north), and a member of the rival club,
Steaua Bucharest.
The 2 athletes have been part of the same double sculls team
since 2019. Their first major performance was recorded in the same year, in
early June-the silver medal in the European Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Later that year, in September, in Linz, they won the silver in the World
Championships.
The next major competition was the 2020 European Championship in
Poznan, Poland, followed by the 2021 European Championship in Varese, Italy, in
which Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş won the gold. (tr. A.M. Popescu)