Until Sunday,
Russia’s Capital Moscow is hosting the European Weightlifting Championships, a
competition attended by 9 athletes from Romania, 7 in the women’s contest and 2
in the men’s. Since the beginning of the competition, the Romanian delegation
has already obtained 8 medals, three gold, four silver and one bronze. Monica
Csengeri became gold medalist in the 49-kilogram category where another
Romanian Mihaela Cambei obtained a silver medal in the clean and jerk and
bronze in the total events.
Adriana Pană
also from Romania stepped onto the podium’s second step in the clean and jerk 45-kilogram
event. In the men’s contest Valentin Iancu-Ionadi obtained two silver medals in
the 55 kilograms clean and jerk and total. For the results she obtained in
Moscow, Radio Romania International has designated Monica Csengeri Athlete of
the Week.
In Moscow Csengeri
compelled international recognition with 86 kg in the snatch contest after two
failed attempts at 90 kilograms. In the clean and jerk she won with a 103 kg
lift and romped home in the total with 189 kg.
Monica Csengeri was
born on March 21st 1996 in Bistriţa (northern Romania) in a disadvantaged
family. In spite of an unhappy childhood marred by dire poverty, Csengeri
managed to shoot to fame in various international competitions at an early age.
At only 15 she was the owner of several national records and won the world
title in the under-21 competition held by Kosice in Slovakia.
She won bronze
in the jerk event of the European Weightlifting Championship in Tbilisi in 2015.
A year later Csengeri stepped onto the first and the third steps of the podium
in the snatch and total events of the European Championships in Norway. After
testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in December 2017 she got
suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation until February 2019.
She managed to get over this period and made a successful comeback to the
European weightlifting elite.