Radio România Internațional

Tag: epee

Athlete of the week

Romanian fencers throughout the years scooped 17 medals. The first Romanian athlete to have stepped onto a step of the Olympic podium was Olga Orbán Szabó. In Melbourne, in 1956, Olga won silver in women’s individual foil event. In Tokyo, in 2021, Ana Maria Branza won also silver, this time in the epee event. The record includes 15 other medals, of which four gold.

The first gold medallist was Ionel Dramba in Ciudad de Mexico, in 1968, in the foil event. Then there was Laura Badea, in Atlanta, in 1996, also in the foil event. Then there were Mihai Covaliu, in Atlanta, in 2000, the sabre event and the women’s epee team in Rio, in 2016.

In recent years, the seniors’ record was rather lackluster. However, a new generation comes from behind. Recently, at the European Fencing Championships for juniors and cadets in Turkey’s Antalya, Romania has won five medals. In the juniors’ event, the Romanian saber team made of Rosemarie Benciu, Amalia Covaliu, Catinca Dumitru and Anastasia Fusea stepped onto the highest step of the podium.

In the men’s saber event, Vlad Covaliu won silver. Also silver went to Emma Sont, in the women’s epee event. In the cadets’ competition, Amalia Covaliu won silver in the sabre event, while Natalia Constantin walked away with bronze in the epee event.

Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Amalia Covaliu the Athlete of the week, since she was the Romanian lineup’s only fencer to have won two medals.

Amalia Covaliu is the daughter of Olympic champion Mihai Covaliu, the current president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. She was born on March 25th, 2008. As part of the first European cadets’ championship of her career, hosted by Estonia’s Tallinn, Amalia succeeded her first major performance, walking away with silver. In the final, Amalia Covaliu conceded defeat to Hungarian challenger Emese Domokos, 10-15. In Turkey, in 2025, Amalia again reached as far as the final, sustaining yet another defeat by Italy’s Francesca Lentini, 15-11.

In the juniors’ team final held in France, Amalia Covaliu was the first one to step on the plank where she was outclassed by Rita Robineaux, 5-3. Amalia’s colleagues Catinca Dumitru and Anastasia Fusea were also overpowered, so France had the upper hand, securing a 20-14 advantage. Amalia Covaliu returned and gave the signal for the team’s vigorous comeback.

After three more assaults, Romania had the advantage. Until the end, the Romanians won every assault. The last fencer on the plank was Amalia Covaliu, who also set the final score: 45 to 37 for Romania.

4 March 2025
Sports weekend

Andrea
Miklos is the fifth Romanian athlete to have secured the qualification to the
2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris. In the 400m race, Miklos came in 2nd
as part of an international contest held in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. Andrea clocked
50 seconds and 80 hundredths of a second, that is 15 hundredths of second
better than the Olympic standard. Sada
Williams of Barbardos was the winner, with 50 seconds and 34 hundredths of a
second. Apart from Andrea
Miklos, having already booked their ticket for Paris are Marathon runner Delvine
Meringor, swimmers David Popovici and Vlad Stancu, as well as pugilist Lăcrămioara
Perijoc.

The World Fencing Championships start in Italy’s Milan this coming
Saturday. The Championships begin on July 22 with the individual men’s sabre
and women’s epee events. The finals are scheduled on July 24th. Preliminaries
for men’s epee and women’s foil events are scheduled on July 23rd. The
finals are scheduled on Tuesday. The rest of the events take place next week. The
competition draws to a close on July 30th.

In news from football, the Romania national
team has climbed one notch down, from the 47th to the 48th
place according to the World national teams’ rankings made public by the
International Football Federation on Thursday. Defending world champions Argentina
still is at the top of the table. Vice world champions France and Brazil, respectively,
follow. Romania’s main challenger at the EURO 2024 preliminaries, Switzerland
has also climbed one notch down as against last month, from the 12th
to the 13th-place. Of Romania’s other opponents, best-placed is Israel,
ranking 79th. Kosovo and Andorra are 109th and 154th-placed,
respectively.

Matches counting towards the Romanian football Super league’s second round
are scheduled at the weekend. On Friday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe go against FC U Craiova
1948, while UTA play CFR Cluj. On Saturday, Farul Constanţa in Ovidiu play a
home fixture against FC Voluntari. In Romania’s capital city, the all-time
Bucharest derby will be played, pitting FCSB against Dinamo Bucharest. On
Sunday, Poli Iasi play a home game against FC Hermannstadt Sibiu, while Universitatea
Cluj face Rapid Bucharest, also on home turf. On Monday, FC Botoşani are pitted
against Petrolul Ploieşti, while Universitatea Craiova play Oţelul Galaţi.

—–

21 July 2023
Sports Weekend

Romania’s national football side on Friday takes on the selection of
Kosovo in an away game counting towards the Group 1 of the Euro 2024
qualifiers. On June 19, the Romanian footballers will be up against Switzerland
in the same group.

This weekend the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, is hosting the European
Fencing Championships right ahead the upcoming European Games in Poland.

The competition in Plovdiv is important because athletes here can get
points, which will enable them to qualify for the Olympics of 2024, whereas the
European Games bring points only to the national teams. Romania is being
represented by its male and female fencers in several contests such as saber,
epee and foil.

In
the Group B of the Golden League competition in women’s volleyball, the
Romanian national side will be taking on Slovakia in an away match. The Czech
Republic tops the group with 9 points, followed by Romania and Slovakia each
with three points. The first side in the group qualifies for the Final Four
tournament, as well as the best of the runners up. In a runners-up ranking
Romania is third after Sweden and France.

In a
game held on Wednesday in Brasov, central Romania, the country’s male
volleyball side obtained its second win in group A of the Golden League,
against Denmark, 3-1. Alexandru Rata proved to be the best Romanian player on
the ground with 22 points scored. In the same group, Turkey outperformed
Portugal 3-1. Romania will be up against Portugal on June 18, also in Brasov,
while Turkey will receive the visit of Denmark on Saturday. Turkey tops the
ranking with 8 points followed by Portugal with 7, Denmark with 6 and Romania
also with 6. The groups’ winners and the organizers will qualify for the Final
Four tournament due in Croatia.

(bill)

16 June 2023
Sports Weekend

Romania’s national football side on Friday takes on the selection of
Kosovo in an away game counting towards the Group 1 of the Euro 2024
qualifiers. On June 19, the Romanian footballers will be up against Switzerland
in the same group.

This weekend the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, is hosting the European
Fencing Championships right ahead the upcoming European Games in Poland.

The competition in Plovdiv is important because athletes here can get
points, which will enable them to qualify for the Olympics of 2024, whereas the
European Games bring points only to the national teams. Romania is being
represented by its male and female fencers in several contests such as saber,
epee and foil.

In
the Group B of the Golden League competition in women’s volleyball, the
Romanian national side will be taking on Slovakia in an away match. The Czech
Republic tops the group with 9 points, followed by Romania and Slovakia each
with three points. The first side in the group qualifies for the Final Four
tournament, as well as the best of the runners up. In a runners-up ranking
Romania is third after Sweden and France.

In a
game held on Wednesday in Brasov, central Romania, the country’s male
volleyball side obtained its second win in group A of the Golden League,
against Denmark, 3-1. Alexandru Rata proved to be the best Romanian player on
the ground with 22 points scored. In the same group, Turkey outperformed
Portugal 3-1. Romania will be up against Portugal on June 18, also in Brasov,
while Turkey will receive the visit of Denmark on Saturday. Turkey tops the
ranking with 8 points followed by Portugal with 7, Denmark with 6 and Romania
also with 6. The groups’ winners and the organizers will qualify for the Final
Four tournament due in Croatia.

(bill)

16 June 2023
Radio Romania International Sports club

The change of generations Romanian fencing has been going through fatally took its toll on Romanian fencing’s recent results at international
level. We recall that that the Romanian delegation had a zero-medal tally at
the European Championships held in Antalya, Turkey, in June. Little wonder then
that the expectations for the World Championships in Cairo were low. At the
event in Egypt, Romania had full teams for the men’s and women’s saber as well
as in women’s foil and women’s epee events. Also, two other fencers
participated in the men’s individual epee event. The set
target was for the respective team to be placed on one of the first six
positions at least in one single event. Sabre fencers were the favorites to meeting
the set target. We recall that at the European championships the team came in 5th,
while Răzvan Ursachi and Iulian Teodosiu had been 5th and 6th
placed, respectively, in the individual events.

Exceeding all expectations, Romanian fencers succeeded to win two bronze
medals, both in individual events. In the sabre event, Iulian Teodosiu stepped
onto the third step of the podium, while Maria Boldor came in 3rd in
the foil event. It was just expected from Teodosiu to succeed that. Iulian Teodosiu
had already won three medals in nations’ competitions, in 2013, when the team
won silver at the World Championships, in 2016, when the team won bronze, also
in the World Championships, and also in 2016, when the Romanians won another
bronze medal, this time in the European Championships. Foil fencer Maria Boldor used to have a constant and an apparently
unassuming position among the world’s top 100 fencers, being placed somewhere around
the 100th position. 26-year world Maria Boldor did not have exceptional
results on the record, although she had competed in a great number of events ever
since she was 17. However, her notable result in an individual event in Cairo earned Maria
Boldor the 19th place according to the world rankings. The Romanian
is also entitled to keeping her hopes high for the 2024 edition of the Olympic
Games in Paris.

In Cairo, the Romanian teams’ run was utterly disappointing. In the men’s
sabre event, with Iulian Teodosiu and Răzvan Ursachi on the line-up, the
Romanians were defeated in the very first round and came in 17th
according to the final rankings. In women’s sabre, Romania was also defeated,
again in the very first round, by Kazakhstan, and came in 18th. In
the women’s foil event, with Maria Boldor fighting, the Romanians were
outclassed by Singapore, also in the very first round, coming in 20th
according to the final rankings. The women’s epee team was the only Romanian team to have lasted beyond the competition’s first round, when they defeated
Canada yet losing to Italy, the bronze medalists in Tokyo. In the 9-16
places tournament, Romania overpowered China, lost to Estonia and eventually
defeated Egypt, coming in 11th according to the final rankings. A disappointing
result, given that in 2016, the epee event earned Romania gold at the Olympic Games in
Rio, in the nations’ competition, and silver in the individual event, in Tokyo,
in 2021.(EN)

27 July 2022
Radio Romania International Sports club

The change of generations Romanian fencing has been going through fatally took its toll on Romanian fencing’s recent results at international
level. We recall that that the Romanian delegation had a zero-medal tally at
the European Championships held in Antalya, Turkey, in June. Little wonder then
that the expectations for the World Championships in Cairo were low. At the
event in Egypt, Romania had full teams for the men’s and women’s saber as well
as in women’s foil and women’s epee events. Also, two other fencers
participated in the men’s individual epee event. The set
target was for the respective team to be placed on one of the first six
positions at least in one single event. Sabre fencers were the favorites to meeting
the set target. We recall that at the European championships the team came in 5th,
while Răzvan Ursachi and Iulian Teodosiu had been 5th and 6th
placed, respectively, in the individual events.

Exceeding all expectations, Romanian fencers succeeded to win two bronze
medals, both in individual events. In the sabre event, Iulian Teodosiu stepped
onto the third step of the podium, while Maria Boldor came in 3rd in
the foil event. It was just expected from Teodosiu to succeed that. Iulian Teodosiu
had already won three medals in nations’ competitions, in 2013, when the team
won silver at the World Championships, in 2016, when the team won bronze, also
in the World Championships, and also in 2016, when the Romanians won another
bronze medal, this time in the European Championships. Foil fencer Maria Boldor used to have a constant and an apparently
unassuming position among the world’s top 100 fencers, being placed somewhere around
the 100th position. 26-year world Maria Boldor did not have exceptional
results on the record, although she had competed in a great number of events ever
since she was 17. However, her notable result in an individual event in Cairo earned Maria
Boldor the 19th place according to the world rankings. The Romanian
is also entitled to keeping her hopes high for the 2024 edition of the Olympic
Games in Paris.

In Cairo, the Romanian teams’ run was utterly disappointing. In the men’s
sabre event, with Iulian Teodosiu and Răzvan Ursachi on the line-up, the
Romanians were defeated in the very first round and came in 17th
according to the final rankings. In women’s sabre, Romania was also defeated,
again in the very first round, by Kazakhstan, and came in 18th. In
the women’s foil event, with Maria Boldor fighting, the Romanians were
outclassed by Singapore, also in the very first round, coming in 20th
according to the final rankings. The women’s epee team was the only Romanian team to have lasted beyond the competition’s first round, when they defeated
Canada yet losing to Italy, the bronze medalists in Tokyo. In the 9-16
places tournament, Romania overpowered China, lost to Estonia and eventually
defeated Egypt, coming in 11th according to the final rankings. A disappointing
result, given that in 2016, the epee event earned Romania gold at the Olympic Games in
Rio, in the nations’ competition, and silver in the individual event, in Tokyo,
in 2021.(EN)

27 July 2022
Sports weekend

The President of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation, former Olympic champion Nicu Vlad, who was also the former vice-president of the International Weightlifting Federation, and the former president of the World Weightlifting forum, the Hungarian Tamas Ajan, this past Thursday received a life suspension from their positions issued by the Sports Arbitration Court in Lausanne. According to the AFP, Nicu Vlad and Tamas Ajan got involved in doping scandals. The two officials were the target of a big doping and corruption scandal as soon as the ARD German TV Channel initiated an investigation into the matter in January 2020. TAS Anti-doping Chamber placed sanctions against Nicu Vlad and Tamas Ajan for their involvement in the manipulation of the antidoping testing procedure. Also, Vlad and Ajan breached the international anti-doping regulations system in the case of several weightlifters for a number of years, beginning 2012″.

The European Fencing Championships kick-start in Turkeys Antalya this coming weekend. A 16-strong Romanian delegation will participate in the competition, of which 12 women and 4 men. According to the president of the Romanian Fencing Federation, Marius Florea, the Romanian delegations set target is securing the 5th and the 6th position according to the world rankings. Fully-fledged Romanian teams will compete in the epee, sabre and foil events in the womens version of the competition and in the sabre event in the mens version of the championships. Of the well-established fencers, only Iulian Teodosiu has been included in the mens team. We recall Teodosiu was 16th-ranked according to the Tokyo Olympics. In the womens version of the epee contest, the Romanian team is headed by Greta Veres, a bronze medalist in 2017 at the European Championships, in the nations competition. We recall that the 2020 and 2021 editions of the European championships, scheduled in Minsk and Plovdiv, had been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the most recent edition of the European Fencing Championships held in Dusseldorf in 2019, Romanias best performance was provided by the mens sabre delegation, coming in 4th according to the final rankings.

Starting Saturday, four swimmers will represent Romania in the World Swimming Championships hosted by the Hungarian capital city Budapest. David Popovici will compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, while Robert Glinta is set to prove his mettle in the 50m and 100m backstroke events. Constantin Popovici and Angelica Muscalu both compete in the 10m platform diving. According to the President of the Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation, Camelia Potec, the Romanian delegations set target is Popovici and Glintas advancing to the finals of the events they compete in.

(EN)

17 June 2022
Sports weekend

The President of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation, former Olympic champion Nicu Vlad, who was also the former vice-president of the International Weightlifting Federation, and the former president of the World Weightlifting forum, the Hungarian Tamas Ajan, this past Thursday received a life suspension from their positions issued by the Sports Arbitration Court in Lausanne. According to the AFP, Nicu Vlad and Tamas Ajan got involved in doping scandals. The two officials were the target of a big doping and corruption scandal as soon as the ARD German TV Channel initiated an investigation into the matter in January 2020. TAS Anti-doping Chamber placed sanctions against Nicu Vlad and Tamas Ajan for their involvement in the manipulation of the antidoping testing procedure. Also, Vlad and Ajan breached the international anti-doping regulations system in the case of several weightlifters for a number of years, beginning 2012″.

The European Fencing Championships kick-start in Turkeys Antalya this coming weekend. A 16-strong Romanian delegation will participate in the competition, of which 12 women and 4 men. According to the president of the Romanian Fencing Federation, Marius Florea, the Romanian delegations set target is securing the 5th and the 6th position according to the world rankings. Fully-fledged Romanian teams will compete in the epee, sabre and foil events in the womens version of the competition and in the sabre event in the mens version of the championships. Of the well-established fencers, only Iulian Teodosiu has been included in the mens team. We recall Teodosiu was 16th-ranked according to the Tokyo Olympics. In the womens version of the epee contest, the Romanian team is headed by Greta Veres, a bronze medalist in 2017 at the European Championships, in the nations competition. We recall that the 2020 and 2021 editions of the European championships, scheduled in Minsk and Plovdiv, had been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the most recent edition of the European Fencing Championships held in Dusseldorf in 2019, Romanias best performance was provided by the mens sabre delegation, coming in 4th according to the final rankings.

Starting Saturday, four swimmers will represent Romania in the World Swimming Championships hosted by the Hungarian capital city Budapest. David Popovici will compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, while Robert Glinta is set to prove his mettle in the 50m and 100m backstroke events. Constantin Popovici and Angelica Muscalu both compete in the 10m platform diving. According to the President of the Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation, Camelia Potec, the Romanian delegations set target is Popovici and Glintas advancing to the finals of the events they compete in.

(EN)

17 June 2022
Top-notch Romanian athletes at the end of their career

Attention-grabbing
in 2021 was, among other things, the retirement of several top-flight Romanian athletes.
Among them, fencer Ana-Maria Popescu, tennis player Horia
Tecau as well as gymnasts Larisa Iordache and Marian Drăgulescu.

For the fifth time
running, in 2021 Ana-Maria Popescu has been designated the world’s best epee
fencer. According to the final rankings, Ana-Maria Popescu was again at the top
of the table. In the last confrontation of her career, in early December, Ana Maria
Popescu came in 2nd at the MK Fencing Academy International Epee
Cup, a World Cup stage event held in Dubai. Ana-Maria Popescu made her
retirement public immediately after the contest.

Lovers of fencing
know her as Ana-Maria Branza. She was born on November 26, 1984 in Bucharest. Ana
Maria first compelled recognition when she stepped onto the third step of the
podium at the World Seniors Championships held in 2002 in Lisbon. Ana-Maria was only 18 back then. All hopes were
pinned on the then up-and-coming Romanian fencer ahead of the Athens Olympics
in 2004. However, she unassumingly cane in 16th. Ana-Maria Popescu’s
stunning comeback occurred at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when she walked
away with silver, at that time the Romanian delegation’s best performance at
the Olympics in China. However, 2016 was the year when Ana-Maria Popescu’s
career best happened; at the Rio Olympics, the Romanian won gold with the epee
national team. Ana-Maria Popescu then went on to win silver in the women’s
singles as part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Tennis player Horia
Tecau is Romania’s best men’s doubles tennis player. For the seventh time running,
in 2021 Tecau advanced to the Champions Tournament, jointly with the German Kevin
Krawietz. In Turin, Tecau and Krawietz succeeded a win and sustained two
defeats. Horia Tecau announcement his retirement shortly afterwards. At the previous
editions of the Champions Tournament, Tecau twice competed alongside Sweden’s Robert
Lindstedt. Horia Tecau also paired up with the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer four
times. Tecau and Rojer emerged as winners of the tournament in 2015.

Horia Tecau was
born on January 19, 1985 in Brasov. In 2002, pairing up with Florin Mergea, Tecau
won the Wimbledon men’s doubles juniors’ title. From July 2008, Horia Tecau had
been placed among the world’s top 100 doubles tennis players. Since November 2009,
Horia Tecau has been placed among the world’s top 50 tennis players. And that’s all from Sports today. You can also
access our sports items at rri.ro and on Facebook. Tecau then constantly ascended
according to the world’s men’s doubles rankings, reaching as far as the
runner-up position in November 2015. Tecau won 38 men’s doubles ATP tournaments
and played 24 finals. Pairing up with the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, Tecau twice
won Grand Slam tournaments, in Wimbledon, in 2015 and the US Open, in 2017. In
2012, Horia Tecau won the mixed doubles version of the Australian Open jointly
with Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, pairing up
with Florin Mergea, Tecau walked away with silver. Horia Tecau has been a full-time
member of Romania’s Davis Cup team since 2003.

The best Romanian gymnast
in recent years, Larisa Iordache put an end to her career in 2021. Larisa was
born on June 19, 1996, in Bucharest. Her debut in major seniors’ competitions
occurred in 2012, when in the singles and the teams’ competitions she won gold in
the floor event and silver in the beam event, as part of the European Championship
in Brussels. In the nations’ competition in 2012 at the London Olympics, Larisa
Iordache won bronze. At the European Championship in Moscow in 2013, Larisa won
gold in the beam event and stepped onto the second step of the podium in the
all-around, floor and vault events. At the World Championship in Antwerp, also
in 2013, Larisa Iordache won bronze in the floor event. In 2014, Larisa
Iordache won gold in the European Championship held in Sofia, in the floor
event and the nations’ competition. She also won silver in the beam event and
bronze in the vault event. Then Larisa Iordache won silver in the Nanning World
Championship in the all-around and floor events. In 2015, Larisa Iordache won
bronze in the all-around event as part of the World Championship in Glasgow. 2016
was rather uneventful for Larisa because of an injury. In 2017 she resumed
participation in competitions and won bronze in the beam event as part of the European
Championship held in Cluj. Yet Larisa Iordache’s stunning comeback occurred in December
2020; at the European Championship in Turkey’s Mersin she won gold in the beam
and floor events and two silver medals in the all-around vault event and,
respectively, in the nations’ competition. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 Larisa
Iordache qualified to the beam final with the fourth-best score. However, Larisa
was unable to compete in the final because of a health condition.

One
of the longest-lasting gymnasts of all time, Marian Dragulescu, was born on December
18, 1980, in Bucharest Marian Drăgulescu retired from competition in 2021, at
the age of 41. He has the most impressive record among Romanian men gymnasts. Marian
won one gold medal and two other bronze medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004. He
then won eight gold and two silver medals in World championships. In European Championships,
Marian Dragulescu won 18 medals, of which ten gold, six silver and two bronze
medals. Dragulescu was designated the Best Athlete of the year in 2005 and 2009.
There even is a vault exercise bearing Marian Dragulescu’s name. (EN)

31 December 2021
The year 2021 in sports – Part 2

The year 2021 worldwide, just like the previous year,
was affected by the new Covid-19 pandemic. The world of sports was no exception
to that, but those involved succeeded to cope with the situation. Competitions
were held, that had initially been scheduled in 2020, such as the European Football championship or the Olympic Games, even though the latter event was
held under special safety conditions. We have so far come up with the first
part of the 2021 retrospective in sports, specifically, we have covered the
first six months of the year. We’re yet again spinning the yarn of 2021 sports
year. In July, tennis player Elena Gabriela Ruse won the Hamburg tournament,
the first WTA success for the Romanian. Ruse secured a 7-6, 6-4 win against Germany’s Andreea Petcovic. Prior to the
tournament, Elena Ruse was 198th placed according to the WTA rankings. She came
straight from the qualifiers and her trail back then included wins over some of
the tournament’s seeded players, among whom Ukraine’s Daria Yastremska, the
top-seeded player in Hamburg.

The Olympic Games in Tokyo also kicked off in July. In
Tokyo, four times did the Romanian delegation step onto the steps of the
podium, while three of the medals went to the rowing crews. The women’s double
sculls crew made of Simona Radiș and Ancuța
Bodnar won the Olympic title. Silver went to the men’s four coxless crew made
of Mihăiţă Ţigănescu, Mugurel Semciuc, Ştefan Berariu and Cosmin Pascari. The
Romanian men’s pair made of Ciprian Tudosă and Marius Cozmiuc also won silver. The Romanian delegation’s only singles
medal was won by veteran epee fencer Ana-Maria
Popescu, who also walked home with silver.

In August, tennis player Horia Tecau and the German Kevin
Krawietz played the finals in Toronto, a tournament with almost three million USD up
for grabs. Top-seeded all-Croatian pair made of Nikola Metkic and Mate Pavic overpowered
their Romanian-Dutch challengers. Raluca Olaru and Nadia Kicenok won the
women’s doubles final of the WTA tournament in Chicago, securing a 7-6, 5-7,
10-8 win against Japanese – Ukrainian pair made of Makoto Ninomiya and Nadia
Kicenok’s twin sister, Ljudmila.

Romanian sports legend Ivan Patzaichin passed away in
September. The greatest Romanian rower of all time died at the age of 71
because of a fatal illness. In the Polish locality Kruszwica, the Romanian
rowing delegation won ten medals, of which five were gold and five silver, as
part of the European U-21 Rowing Championship. The women’s coxed four and coxless four crews won the Olympic titles. The coxed eight and the lightweight singles crews
also won gold. Also gold went to the men’s coxless four crew. Romania came in 1st according to the nations’ final
rankings. Also in September, at the US Open, British tennis player, 18-year-old
Emma Raducanu, whose father is Romanian, won the tournament. Emma was the only
tennis player coming straight from the qualifiers who won a Grand Slam
tournament.

In October, the women’s doubles event as part of the
WTA Nur-Sultan tournament in Kazakhstan was won by Monica Niculescu and
Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, who outclassed the all-Russian pair made of Anghelina
Gabueva and Anastasia Zaharova, c6-2, 4-6, 10-5. Then in Moscow, Raluca Olaru
and Ukrainian Nadia Kicenok reached as far as the tournament’s finals. In November, swimmer David Popovici won gold in the
200m freestyle event as part of the short-course European swimming
Championships in Kazan, Russia. 17-year-old Popovici won his first European seniors’
title, also setting a new national record. Robert Glinta won silver and bronze
in the 100m and 50m backstroke events. Then Romania’s men’s tennis team
advanced to the qualifiers of the Davis Cup final tournament. In Cluj, the
Romanian team outperformed the national team of Peru, 4-nil.

The World IHF Women’s Championships were held in Spain
in December. With one of the world’s best handballers, Cristina Neagu, absent
from the line-up, Romania came in 13th according to the final
rankings. However, the Romanian women’s handball team is the only national
squad to have competed in all editions of the World IHF Championships. In
December, fencer Ana-Maria Popescu officially retired from competition, having
won the silver medal in the World Epee Cup in Dubai. Previously, Popescu had
been awarded the World Cup Trophy for the 2020-2021 competition season.

Our retrospective of the year 2021 in sports has come
to an end. We keep our hopes high for 2022 to be a better year, for
competitors, head-coaches and sports lovers alike.

(EN)

28 December 2021
Radio Romania International Sports Club

Rower Simona Radis,
winner of the women’s double scull Olympic title in Tokyo jointly with Ancuta Bodnar, has been designated the Athlete of the Year in 2021 by Steaua Army Sports Club.
During the ceremony where the Army club’s top-flight athletes were awarded, the
commander of the club, Răzvan Ştefan Bichir, was keen on reminding everybody
that Steaua’s athletes have contributed to all medals won in Tokyo. Also in Tokyo, fencer Ana-Maria
Brânză walked away with silver in the women’s singles epee event and rower Mugurel
Semciuc won silver with the men’s four coxless crew. Also silver went to the men’s double
scull crew made of Ciprian Tudosă and Marius Cozmiuc.

Bianca
Florentina Ghelber and Alexandru Mihăiţă Novac have been designated the Best Athletes in 2021. The Romanian Athletics Federation took into account the two
athletes’ performance in Tokyo. Ghelber came in 6th in the hammer throw event,
while Novac was 12th-placed in the javelin throw event.

In football, the goal-keeper
of the national team and also the goalie of Sparta Prague, Florin Nita, has been
designated the Best footballer of the Year as part of the Romanian Football Gala
2021 which was organised online by the Journalists’ Sports Club. According to
Agerpres, Nita outclassed striker Claudiu Keşeru, who in 2021 played for
Bulgaria’s Ludogoreţ Razgrad and FCSB. Florin Nita also outclassed Slavia Prague’s
midfielder Nicolae Stanciu.

In
volleyball, Alexia Căruţaşu of Galatasaray Istanbul and Marian Bala, playing for
Arcada Galaţi ,have been designated the best volleyball players of the year. The
announcement was posted by the Romanian Volleyball Federation on its Facebook
page. The Performance of the Year Award went to Marius Macarie, the head-coach
of Romania’s youth team. We recall that Romania’s volleyball team came in 6th
at the World Championships in Mexico. The Head-coach of the Year 2021 Award went
to Sergiu Stancu, who is the head-coach of Romania’s champion team Arcada
Galati as well as the head-coach of Romania’s men’s national team.

(Translated by Eugen Nasta)

22 December 2021
Radio Romania International Sports Club

Rower Simona Radis,
winner of the women’s double scull Olympic title in Tokyo jointly with Ancuta Bodnar, has been designated the Athlete of the Year in 2021 by Steaua Army Sports Club.
During the ceremony where the Army club’s top-flight athletes were awarded, the
commander of the club, Răzvan Ştefan Bichir, was keen on reminding everybody
that Steaua’s athletes have contributed to all medals won in Tokyo. Also in Tokyo, fencer Ana-Maria
Brânză walked away with silver in the women’s singles epee event and rower Mugurel
Semciuc won silver with the men’s four coxless crew. Also silver went to the men’s double
scull crew made of Ciprian Tudosă and Marius Cozmiuc.

Bianca
Florentina Ghelber and Alexandru Mihăiţă Novac have been designated the Best Athletes in 2021. The Romanian Athletics Federation took into account the two
athletes’ performance in Tokyo. Ghelber came in 6th in the hammer throw event,
while Novac was 12th-placed in the javelin throw event.

In football, the goal-keeper
of the national team and also the goalie of Sparta Prague, Florin Nita, has been
designated the Best footballer of the Year as part of the Romanian Football Gala
2021 which was organised online by the Journalists’ Sports Club. According to
Agerpres, Nita outclassed striker Claudiu Keşeru, who in 2021 played for
Bulgaria’s Ludogoreţ Razgrad and FCSB. Florin Nita also outclassed Slavia Prague’s
midfielder Nicolae Stanciu.

In
volleyball, Alexia Căruţaşu of Galatasaray Istanbul and Marian Bala, playing for
Arcada Galaţi ,have been designated the best volleyball players of the year. The
announcement was posted by the Romanian Volleyball Federation on its Facebook
page. The Performance of the Year Award went to Marius Macarie, the head-coach
of Romania’s youth team. We recall that Romania’s volleyball team came in 6th
at the World Championships in Mexico. The Head-coach of the Year 2021 Award went
to Sergiu Stancu, who is the head-coach of Romania’s champion team Arcada
Galati as well as the head-coach of Romania’s men’s national team.

(Translated by Eugen Nasta)

22 December 2021
The first medal for Romania in Tokyo

Romania won, on Saturday, the first medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games. In the individual epee event, Ana-Maria Popescu won the silver medal, climbing the Olympic podium for the third time in her career. The final ‘battle’, played against the Chinese Yiwen Sun, was dramatic and very tight. During regular time, there was only a two-touch difference between the two athletes, namely at the beginning, when Ana-Maria led 2-0.

Both athletes had moments when they were leading the game, but the Chinese fencer had a better ending. The Romanian managed to equalize in the last seconds of regular time, bringing the score to 10-10. However, she was caught by surprise by her opponent in the extra time minute, and missed, for the second time, the Olympic gold. However, Ana-Maria unreservedly enjoyed the silver medal:

I played the Olympic final! I am 37 years old. I feel pain everywhere in my body, believe me, it was very hard. It’s the hardest won medal in my entire career. So I don’t care about the gold on Sun’s neck right now. I care about this piece of medal I wanted for myself and that’s all. This is the most important thing. And if in Beijing I wasn’t mature enough to enjoy that medal, now I’m very happy.

The silver in Tokyo is the 17th medal won by Romanian fencing at the Olympic Games, in addition to the four gold, five silver and seven bronze medals won in previous editions. Practically, with the exception of the 2004 Athens Games, fencing brought medals from all editions of the new millennium. Ana-Maria Popescu, better known to sports lovers as Ana-Maria Branza, was among the latest athletes to win gold, in Rio, in 2016, alongside her colleagues Loredana Dinu, Simona Gherman and Simona Pop. Her Olympic record also includes a silver medal in the individual event, obtained in Beijing, in 2008, when she was defeated in the final by the German athlete Britta Heidemann.

At the Tokyo Games, Ana-Maria qualified after taking first place in the individual world rankings made by the International Fencing Federation. Her participation in the Olympics was, for a time, threatened by some surgery she had to undergo on her right knee. However, the intervention went well, as did the subsequent recovery, carried out in the special conditions generated by the coronavirus pandemic. Ana-Maria then managed to get back into the shape that helped her climb the Olympic podium. (MI)

26 July 2021
05.04.2021

Comité – Le premier ministre Florin Cîtu a annoncé ce lundi, au cours dune conférence de presse, la création dun comité interministériel censé assurer, à partir du 1er juin, un premier pas vers le retour à la normalité en Roumanie. La vaccination est la seule solution pour le retour à la normalité et la réouverture de léconomie, a déclaré le premier ministre. Il a précisé quun relâchement de nombreuses restrictions était prévu, mais que jusqualors, la campagne de vaccination devait être accélérée. A cet effet, il a demandé que lEglise sinvestisse dans la campagne dimmunisation, notamment en milieu rural. Selon le chef du cabinet de Bucarest, en avril et mai, les Roumains doivent se faire vacciner afin quun relâchement puisse avoir lieu à partir du 1er juin. Il a annoncé que la Roumanie disposerait des doses nécessaires afin davoir 10 millions de personnes vaccinées fin juillet.

Coronavirus – Plus de 3 600 nouveaux cas de Covid-19 ont été recensés lundi en Roumanie, dont la plupart à Bucarest. Le nombre de cas de contamination rapportés depuis le début de la pandémie a franchi la barre des 977 000 personnes, tandis que celui des décès sélève à près de 24 200. La capitale et 13 départements du pays sont en zone rouge, avec plus de 3 cas dinfection pour mille habitants au cours des 14 derniers jours. Dautre part, la campagne nationale de vaccination se poursuit, avec une cadence supérieure à 50 000 doses administrées quotidiennement. Jusquici, plus de 2,1 millions de personnes ont été immunisées, dont près de la moitié ont reçu aussi la dose de rappel. Une nouvelle tranche de 511 000 doses de vaccin Pfizer arrive aujourdhui en Roumanie, par le schéma dallocation de lUE. A partir daujourdhui, 15 nouveaux centres de vaccination anti-Covid ouvrent, dont un flux destiné aux militaires et trois aux civils.

Pâques – Les fidèles catholiques et protestants du monde entier, y compris la Roumanie, célèbrent aujourd’hui le lundi de Pâques, la plus grande fête de la chrétienté. Dans son message Urbi et Orbi, le Pape François, qui a célébré la messe pascale au Vatican, a dit que la tragédie du monde daujourdhui, ce sont les guerres incessantes. Selon la correspondante de Radio Roumanie à Rome, le Pape a célébré le service divin dans une Basilique Saint Pierre presque vide, en raison des restrictions anti-Covid imposées par le gouvernement de Rome. Le Souverain pontife a prié pour les malades, pour ceux qui ont perdu un être cher, mais aussi pour les chômeurs, demandant aux gouvernements de leur fournir des moyens dexistence décents.

Epée – Le sportif roumain Marco Şovar a remporté la médaille dor à lépreuve masculine dépée, dimanche, aux Championnats du monde descrime pour cadets et juniors du Caire. Il a dépassé en finale le Sud-Coréen Junseong Park par 15-13. La Roumanie participe avec une délégation de 34 sportifs et 9 entraîneurs à lédition 2021 des Championnats du monde descrime pour cadets et juniors du Caire. La compétition a lieu du 3 au 11 avril.

Météo – En Roumanie, le temps continue dêtre plus froid que les normales de saison. Le ciel est variable, avec des passages nuageux sur le centre, lest et le sud du pays, où des ondées sont signalées par endroits. Dans les Carpates orientales et méridionales, on constate la présence de faibles précipitations, des chutes de neige notamment. Le vent est faible à modéré, plus intense sur le relief, mais aussi dans le nord-ouest, le nord et lest. Les températures vont de 8 à 15°, avec 11° à Bucarest.

5 April 2021
Athlete of the week

Epee fencer Ana Maria
Popescu walked home with gold in the 2016 of the Rio Olympics in the nations’
competition. In the wake of that most remarkable feat, Ana Maria Popescu has
become the 60th athlete to have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Romanian Fencing Federation and the Olympic and Sports Committee some time
ago have jointly made the announcement. Ana Maria has bought her ticket for
Tokyo since she came at the top of the table according to the epee world
rankings. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Ana-Maria
Popescu the Athlete of the week. Swimming, athletics, rowing, football,
artistic gymnastics, three on three basketball, cycling, wrestling, shooting
sports, kayak-canoe, table tennis and fencing. These are the thirteen sports
disciplines for which the Romanian athletes have qualified as part of the Tokyo
Olympics.

Ana-Maria Popescu stands the
highest chances to winning a medal in the fencing events as part of the Tokyo Olympics.

Nee Ana-Maria Branza, the award-winning epee fencer was born on November 26,
1984 in Bucharest. She first compelled international recognition in 2001, when, in Poland, she was at the top of the table in the World Cadets’ Championships.
In 2002 Ana Maria Popescu won the world title in the World Juniors’ Championships held in Turkey. It was a special year, 2002, for Ana-Maria Popescu, since her
remarkable feat in the Juniors’ Championships in Turkey was followed by the
bronze medal she won in the World Seniors’ Championships in Lisbon. In the Athens Olympics in
2004 all hopes were pinned on Ana-Maria Popescu’s performance, yet she came in
16th, unfortunately. However, Ana-Maria came from behind and in 2008 at
the Beijing Olympics she walked away with silver. Ana-Maria Popescu’s
career-best occurred at the 2016 edition of the Olympics Games in Rio, when
Ana-Maria won the gold medal with Romania’s epee team.

30 March 2021