Radio România Internațional

Tag: floor

  • Olympic Update

    Olympic Update

    The women’s gymnastics contest as part of the ongoing Paris Olympics drew to a close on Monday, August 5, with the last apparatus pieces finals in the beam and floor events. Romanian gymnasts took the start in both events.

    Competing in the beam event was Sabrina Maneca Voinea, who had advanced to the finals with the 5th mark in the qualifiers, 14. 000 points. However, in the final, Voinea fell off the beam and was eventually 8th-placed, the bottom-of-the-table position, with 11. 733 points.

    The winner was Italy’s Alice D’Amato, with 14. 366 points. The floor final followed, with two Romanian gymnasts competing, Ana Bărbosu and yet again Sabrina Maneca Voinea. Ana got the 8th mark in the qualifiers, 13.600, while Sabrina Voinea got the 4th mark, 13.800. With a flawless exercise in the final, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won, with 14. 166 points.

    Stepping onto the second step of the podium was US gymnast Simone Biles. The American got a surprisingly high mark, 14.133 points, having stepped off of the mat several times. At the end of her exercise, third-placed was Ana Bărbosu, who initially got 13. 700 points. Also 13.700 points got Sabrina Voinea who came in 4th because of a flaw in her exercise. Fifth-placed was US gymnast Jordan Chiles who filed an appeal to which the referees agreed.

    With a raised number of points, 13.766, Chiles won bronze. Therefore, the Romanians were denied the opportunity of stepping onto a step of the podium. Sabrina Voinea filed an appeal targeting the starting mark of her exercise but her appeal was unsuccessful.

    Romania last won an Olympic medal in gymnastics at the London Olympics in 2012. We recall back then Sandra Izbaşa won gold in the vault event, Cătălina Ponor walked away with silver in the floor event. While Romania stepped onto the third step of the podium in the nations’ competition.
    Twelve years on, as part of the Paris Olympics, Romania came in 7th in the nations’ competition.

  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club


    The year 2023 was an auspicious one for Romanian sports as compared to the latter period, mainly in certain sports disciplines. Exceptional results were reported for rowing. As for gymnastics and football, we have secured our comeback in the world’s great competitions.



    As usual, the end of the year brings with it the most prominent performers’ rankings, compiled by the sports federations and clubs.



    At the Romanian Rowing Federation, the best athlete title went to Simona Radis, world and European champion in the double sculls event, as well as European champion in the coxed eight event. Radis was also nominated the best member of Steaua Bucharest Army Sports Club.



    Dinamo Bucharest’s top-flight athletes are also award-winning rowers. They are Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş and Maria Lehaci Tivodariu. The four had identical results in 2023: They won two gold medals each at the European Championships in Bled. Also, they won one gold medal and one silver medal each at the World Championships in Belgrade.



    For the second year in a row, Cătălin Chirilă has been designated the Romanian Kayak-Canoe Federation’s best athlete. In 2023, Catalin won one gold and one silver medal at the World Championships in Duisburg. It was also in Duisburg that Chirila secured his ticket for the Olympics. Also, Catalin Chirila won a silver medal at the European Games in Poland.



    The Roman Gymnastics Federation’s Executive Committee has designated the year’s best gymnasts. They are Sabrina Maneca Voinea, Andrei Muntean and David Gavrilovici Sabrina Maneca Voinea won bronze in the floor event as part of the European Championships in Antalya. Sabina came in 4th in the vault event, also securing her qualification to the 2024 edition of the Olympics. In artistic gymnastics, Andrei Muntean has qualified to the Olympic Games in Paris. In aerobic gymnastics, David Gavrilovici scooped the Shooting Star award as part of the European Championships in Antalya. Gavrilovici’s record back then was made of three gold medals, in trio, aerobic dance and in the teams’ event.




  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    Gymnastics for many years now has been among
    the sports disciplines that made Romania shine, literally. At the Olympic games,
    for instance, the Romanian gymnasts won 71 medals throughout the years. Of those
    medals, 25 were gold, 20 silver and 26 bronze. Most of the medals were won in
    the women’s version of the competition. There was also the women’s team who won last won the medals for Romania, at the London Olympics in 2012. We recall that back then Sandra
    Izbasa won gold in the vault event, while Catalina Ponor walked away with silver in
    the floor event. The Romanian team
    won bronze, in the nations’ competition.


    However, 2012 was the
    last year when the Romanian gymnastics teams, both men and women, succeeded to qualify to the Olympic Games. The Romanian gymnasts’ performance in
    individual events was also lackluster. In 2023, the Romanian gymnastics teams
    have yet again gained their position among the world’s Olympic-level teams. At
    the recently-held World Championships in Belgium’s Antwerp, the Romanian women’s team qualified to the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris.


    In the individual
    event, the best performance came from Sabrina Maneca – Voinea. Sabrina was that
    close to stepping onto a step of the podium, since she came in 4th
    in the floor final. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Sabrina
    the Athlete of the week.


    As part of the Antwerp World Championships qualifiers, Sabrina Maneca Voinea competed in the beam and floor events alone, where she was granted 13.666
    points. Sabrina’s grades in the preliminary contest in Belgium were the best among
    the Romanian gymnasts’ performance. Her marks earned Sabrina the qualification
    to the floor finals, as well as the substitute position in the beam final. On
    Sunday, Sabrina was the last one to have fought for the floor medals. The
    winner was the US gymnast Simone Biles, with 14. 633 points. Second-placed was
    many-time world and Olympic champion, Brazil’s Rebeca
    Andrade, with 14.500 points. The bronze medals went to another Brazilian gymnast,
    Flavia Saravia, who got 13. 966
    points. Sabrina came in 4th, with a
    mere 2 tenths of a points from the third place of the podium.


    Sabrina Maneca Voinea was born in Constanta, in the south-east, on June 4,
    2007. Her mother, Camelia Voinea, is also her coach. We recall Camelia Voinea
    was a top-level gymnast who won gold at the World Championships in Rotterdam,
    in 1987 and silver in the Olympic Games in Seoul, in 1988, in the nations’
    competition. Sabrina has been a regular member of Romania’s juniors’ gymnastics
    team since 2017. In 2023, in the seniors’ version of the European Championships
    held in in Antalya in April, Sabrina won bronze in the floor event.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    The World Gymnastics Championships will come to a close in Belgiums Antwerp. Apparatus pieces final are scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. Sabrina Voinea will represent Romania in the womens floor final on Sunday. Sabrina got the eighth mark in the qualifiers. Following a 12-year gap, the World Championships in Belgium have enabled Romanias national womens team to the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris. We recall that the London Olympics were the last games the Romanian gymnastics team took part in, in the nations competition. Back then the team walked away with the bronze medals. Also securing his qualification to the Olympic Games in Paris was Andrei Muntean. He came in 30th as part of mens individual all-around event qualifiers.



    As part of the ongoing World Rugby Cup in France, in Lille on Sunday, Romania plays its last fixture, taking on the team of Tonga state. In Group B, Romania and Tonga are at bottom of the table, with no points on their record sheet. Top of the table is South Africa, followed by Ireland and Scotland. We recall that two years ago Romania defeated Tonga in Bucharest, 32-20.



    In news from basketball, this coming Saturday CS Voluntari play a home game against cu U-BT Cluj-Napoca, as part of Mens National basketball league. After two rounds, CS Voluntari are at the top of the table in Group A. U-BT Cluj-Napoca have recently defeated the finalist of the 2022 of EuroCup, Türk Telekom Ankara, 80-71.



    This coming weekend will see matches being played, counting towards the Romanian football Superleagues 12th round. On Friday, FC U Craiova 1948 play FC Hermannstadt, while Rapid Bucharest take on Poli Iaşi. On Saturday, in Ploiesti, the local side Petrolul face UTA Arad, while FC Voluntari play a home game against Universitatea Craiova. Also on home turf, FC Botoşani go against FCSB. On Sunday, the newly-promoted Otelul Galati play a home game against defending champions Farul Constanta. In Bucharest, Dinamo are pitted against CFR Cluj. The 12 rounds last fixture is scheduled this coming Monday, with Universitatea Cluj taking on Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. FCSB continue to be at the top of the table in the Superleague.


  • Radio Romania International Sports Club

    Radio Romania International Sports Club

    Romanian gymnastics
    seems to have been marred by the gymnasts’ constant lacklustre performance in
    recent years. The national team no longer qualified to the Olympic games, while the
    medal tally in world and European competitions has been unavoidably low. For instance,
    in the 2022 edition of the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, the
    Romanian gymnasts walked home with no medal. Romanian delegation’s best result
    back then was Gabriel Burtanete’s coming in 4th in the vault final. Gabriel
    needed only two tenths of a point to step onto a step of the podium. In the all-round
    event final, Gabriel Burtanete came in 23rd. In the women’s version
    of the championships, the only Romanian gymnast to have advanced to the final
    was Ana Maria Barbosu, who in the all-round event came in 20th.


    The 2023 competition season, however, had a
    more auspicious start. In the FIG Apparatus World Cup held in Qatar’s
    Doha, the Romanian Sabrina Voinea won two gold medals, in the beam and floor
    events. Sabrina was granted 13.766 points in the beam final, outclassing the runner-up
    gymnast Ana Lascevska of Ukraine by more than four tenths of a point. In the
    floor event, Sabrina’s win was
    even clearer. Sabrina was granted 13.600 points, that if seven tenths of a point
    more than silver medalist, Japan’s Chiaki Hatakeda.


    It was the first international seniors’ competition
    for 15-year-old Sabrina; her performance is all the more impressive, given
    she is still very young. Sabrina will now need to confirm her stunning debut
    performance in an international competition at the coming European Gymnastics Championships,
    to be held in Turkyie’s Antalya between April 11 and 16. Sabrina’s trainer is
    her mother Camelia Voinea, a former gymnast and a silver medalist in the Olympic
    Games in Seoul, in 1988, in the nations’ competition. (EN)

  • Radio Romania International Sports Club

    Radio Romania International Sports Club

    Romanian gymnastics
    seems to have been marred by the gymnasts’ constant lacklustre performance in
    recent years. The national team no longer qualified to the Olympic games, while the
    medal tally in world and European competitions has been unavoidably low. For instance,
    in the 2022 edition of the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, the
    Romanian gymnasts walked home with no medal. Romanian delegation’s best result
    back then was Gabriel Burtanete’s coming in 4th in the vault final. Gabriel
    needed only two tenths of a point to step onto a step of the podium. In the all-round
    event final, Gabriel Burtanete came in 23rd. In the women’s version
    of the championships, the only Romanian gymnast to have advanced to the final
    was Ana Maria Barbosu, who in the all-round event came in 20th.


    The 2023 competition season, however, had a
    more auspicious start. In the FIG Apparatus World Cup held in Qatar’s
    Doha, the Romanian Sabrina Voinea won two gold medals, in the beam and floor
    events. Sabrina was granted 13.766 points in the beam final, outclassing the runner-up
    gymnast Ana Lascevska of Ukraine by more than four tenths of a point. In the
    floor event, Sabrina’s win was
    even clearer. Sabrina was granted 13.600 points, that if seven tenths of a point
    more than silver medalist, Japan’s Chiaki Hatakeda.


    It was the first international seniors’ competition
    for 15-year-old Sabrina; her performance is all the more impressive, given
    she is still very young. Sabrina will now need to confirm her stunning debut
    performance in an international competition at the coming European Gymnastics Championships,
    to be held in Turkyie’s Antalya between April 11 and 16. Sabrina’s trainer is
    her mother Camelia Voinea, a former gymnast and a silver medalist in the Olympic
    Games in Seoul, in 1988, in the nations’ competition. (EN)

  • Romania at the Olympic Games

    Romania at the Olympic Games


    For decades,
    Romania was at the top of world gymnastics. Athletes such as the Olympic
    champions Nadia Comăneci, Ecaterina Szabo, Daniela Silivaș, Simona Amânar or
    Cătălina Ponor made for years the headlines in sports news from all over the
    world. In recent years, however, Romanian gymnastics hasn’t got any good
    results. The Romanian teams’ failing to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo
    is the full expression of the catastrophic decline of Romanian gymnastics.


    The last edition of the
    Olympic Games where Romania got some notable results in gymnastics was the one
    in London, in 2012. The women’s team ranked 3rd in the rankings by country, and
    Catalina Ponor won the silver medal in the floor exercise. The best result was
    the first place won by Sandra Izbaşa in the vault event, a result that brought
    the last Olympic gold medal in the Romanian gymnastics’ record.


    Sandra Izbaşa was born on
    June 18th, 1990, in Bucharest. She started practicing gymnastics at the age of
    4. At 12 she was already part of the national junior team. Her first big
    performance as a senior was in 2006, at Romania’s International Gymnastics Competition
    where she won the all-around individual, floor and vault events. Also in 2006,
    at the European Championships in Volos, she won a gold medal on floor, a silver
    one with the team, and a bronze medal in the beam event.


    There followed many other
    medals won at European and world competitions. It all culminated in the Olympic
    Games in Beijing, in 2008, where Sandra won gold on floor. There followed two
    years poor in notable results. In 2011, however, at the European Championships
    in Berlin, Sandra Izbaşa ranked first in both floor and vault. Also, she
    returned with two gold medals from the European Championships in Brussels, in
    2012: one in the vault event and another one with the team. The success scored
    the same year, at the Olympic Games in London, was the last major result of
    Sandra Izbaşa’s sporting career.

    (M.Ignatescu)






  • Romania at the Olympic Games

    Romania at the Olympic Games


    For decades,
    Romania was at the top of world gymnastics. Athletes such as the Olympic
    champions Nadia Comăneci, Ecaterina Szabo, Daniela Silivaș, Simona Amânar or
    Cătălina Ponor made for years the headlines in sports news from all over the
    world. In recent years, however, Romanian gymnastics hasn’t got any good
    results. The Romanian teams’ failing to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo
    is the full expression of the catastrophic decline of Romanian gymnastics.


    The last edition of the
    Olympic Games where Romania got some notable results in gymnastics was the one
    in London, in 2012. The women’s team ranked 3rd in the rankings by country, and
    Catalina Ponor won the silver medal in the floor exercise. The best result was
    the first place won by Sandra Izbaşa in the vault event, a result that brought
    the last Olympic gold medal in the Romanian gymnastics’ record.


    Sandra Izbaşa was born on
    June 18th, 1990, in Bucharest. She started practicing gymnastics at the age of
    4. At 12 she was already part of the national junior team. Her first big
    performance as a senior was in 2006, at Romania’s International Gymnastics Competition
    where she won the all-around individual, floor and vault events. Also in 2006,
    at the European Championships in Volos, she won a gold medal on floor, a silver
    one with the team, and a bronze medal in the beam event.


    There followed many other
    medals won at European and world competitions. It all culminated in the Olympic
    Games in Beijing, in 2008, where Sandra won gold on floor. There followed two
    years poor in notable results. In 2011, however, at the European Championships
    in Berlin, Sandra Izbaşa ranked first in both floor and vault. Also, she
    returned with two gold medals from the European Championships in Brussels, in
    2012: one in the vault event and another one with the team. The success scored
    the same year, at the Olympic Games in London, was the last major result of
    Sandra Izbaşa’s sporting career.

    (M.Ignatescu)






  • Athlete of the Year 2020

    Athlete of the Year 2020

    For the lovers of sport, the year 2020 was quite uneventful, competition-wise. Some of the events were cancelled while others were rescheduled, as the sanitary crisis had a strong bearing on the competition schedule. Notwithstanding, many of the Romanian athletes results were way above par, especially in the European championships. Whether we speak about rowing, shooting sports or gymnastics, Romanias anthem could be heard again, and more than once. The years most remarkable feat was provided by womens gymnastics as Larisa Iordache is still fresh from the recently-held European championships hosted by the Turkish city of Mersin. Larisa walked home with two gold medals she won in the beam and floor and two silver medals, one in the vault event and one in the nations competition. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Larisa the Athlete of the year in 2020.



    Larisa Iordache secured her comeback in top-flight competition after the three-year break she needed because of a series of surgical operations Larisa underwent in the wake of an Achillean tendon rupture. Against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic, as she was signed up by the Dinamo Sports Club and since she was an officer with the Internal Affairs Ministry, this past spring Larisa Iordache was employed by the Ministry in her official capacity, joining other athletes as part of the authorities enforcement operations regarding the executive orders issued for this past springs lockdown. Larisa Iordache then resumed training, strictly observing the timetable coaches set for her, so that Larisa could meet her set target in 2020, participation in the European championships hosted by the city of Mersin, Turkey.



    In the European championships, Larisa was the star of the competition. After the qualifiers, she secured her participation in all four apparatus pieces finals. Larisa Iordache also contributed to the silver medal Romania won in the nations competition. In the apparatus pieces finals, Larisa first won the silver medal in the vault event. In the beam event, Larisa was way above her challengers. However, in the floor event, the gold medal went to Larisa Iordache as the result of the judges assessment being contested. Before Larisa proved her mettle in the competition, Turkeys Göksu Üçtaş was the top performer, with 13,100 points. Larisas execution was more difficult and her performance was better, yet the Romanian came in 2nd, with 50 thousandths points less than Üçtaş. Double-check revealed that the difficulty score algorithm for Larisas execution was flawed from the beginning, so the Romanian got 13, 450 points and stepped onto the first step of the podium.



    Larisa Iordache was born on 19 June, 1996 in Bucharest. She took up high-level performance gymnastics with the Cetate Deva National Sports College. Then Larisa was officially included in Romanias Olympic pool of regulars. She made her debut in the top-level seniors contest in 2012 when she won three medals in the European Championships, gold in the floor event and in the nations competition and silver in the beam event. In the London Olympics Larisa Iordache won silver in the nations competition. In 2013, at the European Championships in Moscow, Larisa won gold in the beam event, while in the all-around event she won silver in beam and floor. Also in 2013, in the World Championships held in Anvers, Larisa Iordache walked away with bronze in the floor event. In 2014 she won gold in the European Championships in Sofia, in the beam event and in the nations competition. Larisa also won silver in the beam event and bronze in the vault event. Larisa Iordaches blazing trail includes the silver medal she won in in Nanning, in the all-around and beam events, also in 2014, while in 2015, in the World Championships in Glasgow, Larisa walked away with the bronze medal she won in the all-around event. 2016 was not that fruitful for Larisa Iordache because she sustained an injury. She secured her comeback in 2017, when she won bronze in the beam event as part of the European Championships held in Romanias Cluj. Larisa Iordache won gold in the all-around and floor events in the World University Games held in Taipei.



    Larisa Iordaches set target for the next period is getting through to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Larisa can book her ticket for Japan at the European individual championships scheduled for April 2021 and hosted by the city of Basel in Switzerland.


    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)