Radio România Internațional

Tag: lightweight

  • Olympic Update

    Olympic Update

    Swimmer David Popovici on Wednesday won the bronze medal in the 100m Olympic race. The winner of the race was China’s Chan Zhanle, who set a new world record 46 seconds and 40 hundredths of a second. The runner-up competitor was Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, who clocked 47 seconds and 48 hundredths of a second. David Popovici came in third, with a timing of 47 seconds and 49 hundredths of a second. For David, it was the second medal he scooped as the ongoing edition of the Olympic Games in Paris, having won gold in the 200m race.

    In rowing, Florin Arteni and Florin Lehaci also on Wednesday advanced to the men’s double sculls final. Arteni and Lehaci already won the first semi-final. The Romanian crew had the lead three quarters of the race and hit the finish line two seconds earlier than the British crew. The final is scheduled on Friday. Romania last won a men’s double sculls Olympic medal in Tokyo, in 2021. Back then the silver medal went to Marius Cozmiuc and Ciprian Tudosă.

    Also qualifying to the final was the lightweight women’s pair, made of Gianina van Groningen, nee Beleagă, and Ionela Cozmiuc. On Wednesday, the Romanian crew succeeded a laid-back win of the second semifinal, arriving more than a second earlier than the Greek crew and also succeeding the best timing of the semifinals. The final is scheduled on Wednesday. In the lightweight women’s pair, Romania last won an Olympic medal in 2004 in Athens, when the gold medal went to Angela Alupei and Constanţa Burcică.

    Also on Friday, the finals are scheduled, of lightweight women’s double sculls, with Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel representing Romania. Vrinceanu and Anghel on Wednesday came in second in the first semifinal. Romania last won a lightweight women’s double sculls Olympic medal in Beijing in 2008. Back then Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu won gold.

    Romania’ s representatives in table tennis have all been eliminated from the individual competitions. The last Romanian table tennis player to have competed individually, Bernadette Szőcs, was eliminated in the round of 16. 5th-seeded Szocs was defeated by the 15th-seeded competitor in Paris, Moldovan-born Austrian player Sofia Polcanova, 4- nil. We recall that in the mixed doubles, pairing up with Ovidiu Ionescu, Bernadette Szocs came in 5th.Romania will carry on fighting in the nations’ competition, taking on India in the round of 16, on August 5.

  • Athletes of the week

    Athletes of the week

    13 Romanian crews with 34 rowers proved their mettle in the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The Romanian delegation came in 4th according to the final medal rankings. The Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy came in 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The Romanian delegation walked away with five medals. Two were gold, won by Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș in womens pair and the coxed eight crew, another medal was silver, won by the womens quadruple sculls crew la while two other medals were bronze, won by womens double sculls crew and lightweight womens pair crew, 11 Romanian crews have qualified to the Paris Olympics of 2024.



    Defending Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radis won the first gold medal on Sunday, in the womens pair event. Bodnar and radis had no problem winning the race with more than a boats length, clocking 6 minutes, 46 seconds and 94 hundredths of a second. Second came in Donata Karaliene and Dovile Rimkute of Lithuania, while bronze was won by Kristina Wagner and Sophia Vitas of the USA, Thanks to their performance and for the manner in which they won the race, Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radis have been designated the Athletes of the week by Radio Romania International.



    25-year-old Ancuța Bodnar is signed up by Dinamo Bucharest sports club, while 24-year-old Simona Radiș is signed up by Steaua Bucharest sports club. Ancuta and Simona have paired up in the womens pair boat since 2019. The same year, Bodnar and Radis won silver in the European Championships held in Switzerlands Lucerne. The two won another silver medal in September, also in 2019, in the World Championships held in Linz, Austria. Two European titles followed the first one in Polands Poznan, in 2020 and the second one in Varese, Italy, in 2021. In the Tokyo Olympics, also in 2021, Bodnar and Radis won the Romanian delegations only Olympic medal. The two won yet another European title in 2022, in Munich, Germany and a world title, in Racice, the Czech Republic, In May, 2023, Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radis became European champions in Bled, Slovenia.


  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    At the World Rowing Championships held in Bled, Slovenia, the Romanian delegation’s overall record was made of five gold medals and one silver medal. On Saturday, the Romanian women’s four rowing crew, made of Mădălina Bereş, Maria Tivodariu, Magdalena Rusu and Amalia Bereş walked away with gold. Also on Saturday, the Romanian delegation’s only silver medal went to the men’s coxed eight crew, made of Mihăiţă Ţigănescu, Ciprian Tudosă, Florin Arteni, Mugurel Vasile Semciuc, Marius Cozmiuc, Sergiu Bejan, Ştefan Berariu, Florin Lehaci and Adrian Munteanu.



    On Sunday, Ionela Cozmiuc won gold in the lightweight women’s single sculls, while Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel won the world title in the women’s pair. Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş won yet another gold medal in women’s pair event. The Romanian delegation concluded the competition also winning gold in women’s coxed eight event. The winning crew was made of Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Anghel, Adriana Adam, Maria Tivodariu, Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu, Simona Radiş and Victoria-Ştefania Petreanu. According to the nations’ competition, Romania came in second, while Great Britain was at the top of the table.



    All medalists at the 2023 edition of the European Championships fully deserve the title of Athlete of the week. Spoiled for choice as it may be, Radio Romania International opted for designating Ionela Cozmiuc the Athlete of the week, for her exceptional feat in the individual event she won. Halfway through the race, Cozmiuc was third placed, yet her comeback was exceptional; Ionela Cozmiuc won the race, setting a new European record, with a timing of 7 minutes, 32 seconds and 43 hundredths of a second.



    Ionela Cozmiuc was born on January 3rd, 1995 in northern Romania’s Câmpulung Moldovenesc. She is 1.78-meter tall and weighs 57 kilograms. Ionela is signed up by Dinamo Bucharest sports club. Her international record includes the 8th place she won at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and the 6th-place at the Tokyo Olympics in in 2021. Ionela Cozmiuc is a two-time world champion, in Sarasota, the USA, in 2017 and in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv, in 2018. Ionela’s record also includes a bronze medal she won at the European championships in 2019 in Poznan, Poland.




  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    At the World Rowing Championships held in Bled, Slovenia, the Romanian delegation’s overall record was made of five gold medals and one silver medal. On Saturday, the Romanian women’s four rowing crew, made of Mădălina Bereş, Maria Tivodariu, Magdalena Rusu and Amalia Bereş walked away with gold. Also on Saturday, the Romanian delegation’s only silver medal went to the men’s coxed eight crew, made of Mihăiţă Ţigănescu, Ciprian Tudosă, Florin Arteni, Mugurel Vasile Semciuc, Marius Cozmiuc, Sergiu Bejan, Ştefan Berariu, Florin Lehaci and Adrian Munteanu.



    On Sunday, Ionela Cozmiuc won gold in the lightweight women’s single sculls, while Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel won the world title in the women’s pair. Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş won yet another gold medal in women’s pair event. The Romanian delegation concluded the competition also winning gold in women’s coxed eight event. The winning crew was made of Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Anghel, Adriana Adam, Maria Tivodariu, Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu, Simona Radiş and Victoria-Ştefania Petreanu. According to the nations’ competition, Romania came in second, while Great Britain was at the top of the table.



    All medalists at the 2023 edition of the European Championships fully deserve the title of Athlete of the week. Spoiled for choice as it may be, Radio Romania International opted for designating Ionela Cozmiuc the Athlete of the week, for her exceptional feat in the individual event she won. Halfway through the race, Cozmiuc was third placed, yet her comeback was exceptional; Ionela Cozmiuc won the race, setting a new European record, with a timing of 7 minutes, 32 seconds and 43 hundredths of a second.



    Ionela Cozmiuc was born on January 3rd, 1995 in northern Romania’s Câmpulung Moldovenesc. She is 1.78-meter tall and weighs 57 kilograms. Ionela is signed up by Dinamo Bucharest sports club. Her international record includes the 8th place she won at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and the 6th-place at the Tokyo Olympics in in 2021. Ionela Cozmiuc is a two-time world champion, in Sarasota, the USA, in 2017 and in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv, in 2018. Ionela’s record also includes a bronze medal she won at the European championships in 2019 in Poznan, Poland.




  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week


    The World Rowing Championships, held in Racice, the Czech Republic, last week, made the perfect opportunity for the Romanian delegation to win four gold medals. Ionela Cozmiuc won gold in the women’s lightweight race. Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan, in the men’s double sculls, then Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş, in the women’s pair, won gold. Also gold went to Romanian women’s coxed eight crew. Having won the world title in the women’s pair, Simona Radis was a member of the coxed eight crew, and, for a second time around, won the gold medal. Radio Romania International was spoiled for choice this week, since it had no less than 13 world champions to choose from, in a bid to designate the Athlete of the week.



    Simona Radiș was born on April 5, 1999 in northern Romania’s Botosani. She is currently signed up by Steaua Bucharest sports club. For three years now, Simona’s stunning performances so far have been possible only pairing up with Ancuta Bodnar in the lightweight women’s pair boat. Their first notable performance occurred in early June 2019, when Radis and Bodnar walked away with gold at the European Championships held in Lucerne, Switzerland. Then in September 2019, the two world the silver medals at the World Championships in Linz, Austria. At the subsequent major competitions, that is in Poland’s Poznan, in 2020 and in Varese, Italy, in 2021, Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radiş won gold. Also in 2021, the two won the Romanian delegation’s only Olympic title, at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, Radis and Bodnar won another European title in Munich and, fairly recently the gold medals in Racice. (EN)



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  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week


    The World Rowing Championships, held in Racice, the Czech Republic, last week, made the perfect opportunity for the Romanian delegation to win four gold medals. Ionela Cozmiuc won gold in the women’s lightweight race. Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan, in the men’s double sculls, then Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş, in the women’s pair, won gold. Also gold went to Romanian women’s coxed eight crew. Having won the world title in the women’s pair, Simona Radis was a member of the coxed eight crew, and, for a second time around, won the gold medal. Radio Romania International was spoiled for choice this week, since it had no less than 13 world champions to choose from, in a bid to designate the Athlete of the week.



    Simona Radiș was born on April 5, 1999 in northern Romania’s Botosani. She is currently signed up by Steaua Bucharest sports club. For three years now, Simona’s stunning performances so far have been possible only pairing up with Ancuta Bodnar in the lightweight women’s pair boat. Their first notable performance occurred in early June 2019, when Radis and Bodnar walked away with gold at the European Championships held in Lucerne, Switzerland. Then in September 2019, the two world the silver medals at the World Championships in Linz, Austria. At the subsequent major competitions, that is in Poland’s Poznan, in 2020 and in Varese, Italy, in 2021, Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radiş won gold. Also in 2021, the two won the Romanian delegation’s only Olympic title, at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, Radis and Bodnar won another European title in Munich and, fairly recently the gold medals in Racice. (EN)



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  • Athletes of the week on Radio Romania International

    Athletes of the week on Radio Romania International

    The
    European Rowing Championships held in Poland’s Poznan this past weekend saw the
    Romanian delegation regaining its place among Europe’s elite. The Romanian
    delegation came in 3rd in the nations’ competition, with a record of
    six medals, of which four were gold, one silver and one bronze. The gold medals
    went to the women’s double sculls and men’s double sculls crews, who were joined
    by women’s coxless pair and women’s coxed octuple sculls crews. Romania’s men’s
    coxed octuple scull crew walked away with silver, while the bronze medal went
    to women’s coxless pair crew, the lightweight version.

    Of these feats, the most outstanding was that of the women’s double
    sculls crew. In the final, Nicoleta-Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Geanina Radiş took
    the lead from the very start of the race, also managing to have a constant
    distance from their contenders, all along the race. The Romanian clocked 6 mins, 56 secs and 860
    thousandths. Following suit was the Dutch crew made of Roos de Jong and Lisa
    Scheenaard, who finished the race more than six seconds later than the
    Romanians. Stepping onto the third step of the podium were Helene Lefebvre and Elodie
    Ravera-Scaramozzino. For their win, Ancuta Petru-Bodnar and Simona Radis have
    been designated the Athletes of the Week on Radio Romania International.

    Nicoleta-Ancuța
    Bodnar was born on September 25, 1998 in Suceava County’s Vatra Moldoviței, in
    the north. Simona Geanina Radiș also hails from a northern Romanian county,
    Botosani, where she was born on April 5, 1999. The two have paired up as
    competitors since 2019, when they succeeded to go through to the Tokyo Olympics
    since they became vice-world champions in the double sculls event, a noteworthy
    feat, for which the Romanian Rowing Federation designated them the Athletes of
    the Year in 2019. Ancuta Petru-Bodnar and Simona Radis have confirmed, when, in
    2020, they won the U-23 European title at the European Championships held in
    Germany’s Duisburg in September. The two have yet again confirmed their
    standing with their most recent win in Poznan.


    (translation by Eugen Nasta)