Radio România Internațional

Tag: Andrei Ungur

  • Athletes of the Week on RRI – Swimmers Andrei Ungur and David Popovici

    Athletes of the Week on RRI – Swimmers Andrei Ungur and David Popovici

    Major competitions are slowly returning to Romania. Last week the city of Otopeni near Bucharest played host to the European Short-Course Swimming Championships. The competition unfolded in front of large crowds, evidence that swimming competitions remain very popular in Romania. Results obtained by Romanian swimmers were however somewhat subpar. Romania grabbed two medals – Andrei Ungur in the 100m backstroke final and David Popovici in the 100m freestyle event. The disappointment stems from the fact that Romania won fewer medals compared to the previous edition of 2021 hosted by Kazan, Russia, when Popovici won the 200m freestyle gold medal and Robert Glință won silver in the 100m backstroke and 50m backstroke races. The results grabbed in Otopeni are however remarkable, which is why we have designated Andrei Ungur and David Popovici Athletes of the Week on RRI.




    Andrei Ungur was a welcome surprise at the European Swimming Championships in Otopeni. He was born October 17, 1998 in Baia Mare (north). He spent the last five years in the United States, training in a swimming center. He graduated University of Utah, specializing in Film. His dream is to produce documentaries for National Geographic.




    Although much younger, David Popovici has a much more impressive record. He was born in Bucharest on September 15, 2004. Last year, at the European Swimming Championships in Rome, he finished the 100m freestyle race in 46.86 seconds, setting a new world record. Also in 2022, he won the World Championships in Budapest in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, a premiere for Romanian sports. At the short-course World Championships last year in Melbourne, Popovici won silver in the 200m freestyle event. He was ranked 4th in the 100m event, setting a new junior world record. (VP)


  • Sportivii săptămânii: Înotătorii Andrei Ungur şi David Popovici

    Sportivii săptămânii: Înotătorii Andrei Ungur şi David Popovici

    Competiţiile sportive majore revin, treptat, în România. Săptămâna trecută
    au avut loc, la Otopeni, lângă Bucureşti, Campionatele Europene de înot în
    bazin scurt. Publicul a fost prezent în număr mare, dovedind ca întrecerile de
    nataţie rămân extrem de populare în România. Rezultatele sportivilor români au
    fost, întrucâtva, sub aşteptări. Au fost obţinute două medalii de bronz, prin Andrei
    Ungur, la 100 de metri spate, şi David Popovici, la 100 de metri liber. Dezamăgirea
    vine din faptul că au fost câştigate mai puţine medalii decâr în 2021, la
    precedenta ediţie a Europenelor în bazin scurt, când, la Kazan, în Rusia,
    Popovici a cucerit medalia de aur la 200 de metri liber, iar Robert Glinţă a
    obţinut un argint la 100 de metri spate şi un bronz la 50 de metri spate.
    Rezultatele obţinute însă la Otopeni de Ungur şi Popovici sunt totuşi
    remarcabile şi, în urma lor, Radio România Internaţional i-a desemnat pe cei
    doi înotători Sportivii Săptămânii.


    Andrei Ungur a reprezentat surpriza plăcută a Campionatelor Europene de la
    Otopeni. S-a născut pe 17 octombrie 1998, la Baia Mare (nord). A petrecut
    ultimii cinci ani în Statele Unite, unde a ajuns cu o bursă sportivă, pe înot.
    A urmat cursurile Universităţii statului Utah şi s-a specializat în Film. Visul
    său este de a face filme documentare pentru National Geographic.


    David Popovici, deşi este mai tânăr, are un palmares mult mai bogat. S-a născut
    la București, în ziua de 15 septembrie 2004. Anul trecut, la Europenele
    în bazin olimpic de la Roma, a
    terminat cursa de 100 de metri liber în 46 de secunde şi 86 de sutimi, nou
    record mondial. Tot în 2022 a câştigat, la Mondialele de la Budapesta, probele
    de 100 și 200 de metri liber, performanţe în premieră pentru sportul românesc.
    În bazin scurt, la Mondialele de acum un an, de la Melbourne, a câștigat
    medalia de argint la 200 de metri liber. La 100 de metri liber, a ocupat locul
    4 și a realizat un nou record mondial de juniori.


  • December 9, 2023

    December 9, 2023

    Ukraine — The Romanian FM, Luminiţa Odobescu, reiterated, on Friday, Romanias support for opening accession negotiations between the EU and Ukraine, a topic which, along with the launch of a similar action for the Republic of Moldova, will dominate the European summit scheduled, in one week, in Brussels. During the discussions in Bucharest, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Ştefanișina thanked Romania for the constructive dialogue related to the prospects of accession and pointed out that her country made enormous efforts to overcome the obstacles in the way of reforms. The deputy prime minister also recalled that the Ukrainian parliament adopted, on Friday, the amendments to the National Minorities Law, in order to implement the latest recommendations of the European institutions. On November 8, 2023, the European Commission positively assessed Ukraines reforms in the field of rule of law and fighting corruption, but asked Kyiv to make rapid improvements to the law on the use of national minorities languages ​​in the education system and the public space, according to the Venice Commissions recommendations. The decision to launch accession negotiations requires unanimity from the 27 member states, but is threatened by the opposition of the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.



    Timişoara – 80,000 people have so far visited the Brâncusi Exhibition, open at the National Art Museum in Timişoara (western Romania) until January 28, 2024. According to the authorities, it is the most successful event of the European Capital of Culture program and represents the debut of major artistic projects. Timişoara officially ended the European Capital of Culture program with a festive gala held on Friday evening at the Palace of Culture. “Timişoara 2023 has shown that we can imagine a creative and prosperous future of solidarity, not just for our city, but for the entire Europe”, said the mayor of the city, Dominic Fritz. “A future of Europe where our unity is built on diversity, not uniformity. A future of Europe in which we lead from cross-border regions, not just from the capitals. Investments in culture are not a luxury, but the very foundation on which we build” Dominic Fritz went to say. The events that mark the end of the Timişoara European Capital of Culture program continue tonight with a concert by Katie Melua and an aerial acrobatics show, and on Sunday Jessie J and Roisin Murphy, international stars with thousands of fans around the world, will take the stage.



    Swimming – At the European Short Course Swimming Championships Otopeni 2023, Andrei Ungur won, on Friday evening, the first medal for Romania, bronze in the 100m backstroke. Today, David Popovici is participating in the final of the 200 m freestyle, in which he qualified with the best time. Romania is participating in the European Championships with a team of 21 athletes (7 girls and 14 boys), selected based on the performance shown at the National Short Course Championships from November 9-12, also held in Otopeni. At the previous edition of the European short course championship, which took place in Kazan (Russia), in 2021, David Popovici won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle, and Robert Glința won silver in the 100 m backstroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke. At the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Popovici won silver in the 200m freestyle.



    Tel Aviv – Fighting has intensified in Gaza, with Israeli forces launching strikes across the GAza Strip. The deathtoll in Gaza reached almost 17,500, according to the Palestinians. In Ramallah, in the West Bank, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, called for an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace, guaranteed by the great powers. A cease-fire was also requested by a resolution put to a vote in the UN Security Council, but it was blocked by a veto by the US, while 13 countries voted in favor and Great Britain abstained. On the other hand, Washington is putting pressure on Israel to take measures to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza and supports the idea of ​​shorter-term ceasefires. Pressure for a ceasefire is also building in Israel, where the families of hostages still in Hamas hands fear that they might be killed during the clashes. (LS)