Radio România Internațional

Tag: rowing

September 11, 2023

School — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced that the issue of drug consumption among young people will be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the country’s Supreme Council of National Defense. Attending today the opening of the new pre-university year at a school in Bucharest, he has emphasized that this phenomenon represents a serious challenge to national security. Klaus Iohannis has also said that he continues to support the increase in teachers salaries as of January 1, 2024. He has given assurances that he remains firm and will support all measures to make the commitments made by the Government this summer come true. The new school year started, today, in Romania, for approximately 3 million pupils and preschoolers. It will have 36 weeks of courses, and it is organized in five modules, just like the previous one. “The Green Week” and “Doing School Differently” will take place between September 11, 2023 – April 26, 2024 and can be set by schools in any of modules 1, 2, 3 or 4, in intervals of 5 consecutive working days. The school year will end on June 21, 2024. The pupils entering the 5th grade will be the first to take an additional high school entrance exam in the summer of 2027.

Drone — The Romanian Defense Ministry announced that the presence of drone fragments in a different area than those investigated previously was not confirmed. The armed forces remain on alert and will continue investigations in the areas of the national territory located in the vicinity of the areas where the Russians are carrying out attacks on the Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube, the Defense Ministry announced on Sunday. According to the quoted source, in the last 48 hours, forces and equipment of the Naval Forces, the Land Forces and other structures acted with research teams in the field and with aerial surveillance devices on an area of more than 80 square kilometers in three localities of Tulcea and Galati counties, on the Romanian bank of the Danube, near the port of Reni in Ukraine. On the other hand, the Defense Ministry strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against some objectives and elements of civil infrastructure in the Ukrainian ports on the Danube. These attacks are unjustified and in serious violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, being war crimes, the Defense Ministry emphasizes. Previously, the chargé daffaires of the Russian Federation Embassy in Bucharest was urgently summoned to the Foreign Ministry where he was informed that Romania protests the violation of Romanias airspace. NATO, through Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, expressed its solidarity with Romania. The official stated that there are no indications of Russia’s intention to attack NATO, but that the attacks are destabilizing.

Volleyball — Today, the Romanian national team faces France, the defending Olympic champion, in the quarter-finals of the European Mens Volleyball Championship. The Romanians reached this stage after a dramatic victory over Croatia. Romania also met France in the groups stage, managing to defeat it surprisingly, score 3-1. The national volleyball team has not been among the top eight teams of the continent for 40 years, after finishing on 8th place in 1983. The European Championship takes place in Israel, Italy, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The record of the Romanian players includes a European title, two silver and two bronze medals.

Exercise — The Romanian and US Naval Forces are jointly organizing, as of Monday until Friday, September 15, a multinational exercise called Sea Breeze. It will take place in the area of responsibility of the Romanian Naval Forces in the Black Sea and the Danube Delta and aims to develop teamwork between the participating countries in the field of combating explosive devices, especially sea mines, so that navigation can take place freely. Soldiers from Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, France and the UK are also taking part in the exercise.

Rowing – Romania won five medals, of which two gold, at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, and finished the competition on fourth place in the overall ranking. The gold was won by the womens double scull team and the women’s eight plus one. The Romanian rowers won one silver and two bronze medals. Also, 11 of the 13 Romanian crews that participated in the world championships in Serbia qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Earthquake – Rescue teams from Morocco, supported by colleagues abroad, continue to race against time to find survivors and provide aid to hundreds of people left homeless after Friday nights earthquake, which killed more than 2,100 people and wounded more than 2,400, according to the most recent official toll. Four countries received favorable answers to their aid offers: Great Britain, Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced that, from the information it has, there are no Romanians among the victims of the earthquake in Morocco. (LS)

11 September 2023
World medals for Romanian rowing

Romania had a great finish at the World Rowing Championships hosted by Serbias capital Belgrade this year. On the final day of the competition, on Sunday, Romanian rowers won two gold medals.

The first one came in the womens double sculls as defending Olympic champions Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş finished the race ahead of Lithuania and the US, the crews in second and third place, respectively. The next to win the gold were Romanias womens eight, made up of Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Anghel, Adriana Adam, Iuliana Buhuş, Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş, Maria Tivodariu, Ioana Vrînceanu and Victoria-Ştefania Petreanu. They finished ahead of US and Australia, who came in second and third, respectively. On the previous day, on Saturday, Romanias womens four, made up of Mădălina Bereş, Maria Tivodariu, Magdalena Rusu and Amalia Bereş, won the silver medal; while two bronze medals came from Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel in the womens pair and from Mariana-Laura Dumitru and Ionela Cozmiuc in the lightweight double sculls. In the mens races, Romanias mens eight finished fourth, behind Great Britain, The Netherlands and Australia and, despite failing to win a medal, did secure their qualification for the Paris Olympic Games next year.

Shortly before the start of the championships, the president of the Romanian Rowing Federation and head of the National Agency for Sport Elisabeta Lipă, who was the first rower in the world to win eight Olympic medals, said the goal of the federation in Belgrade was to make sure as many crews qualify for the Paris Games. 11 Romanian crews out of the 13 that took part in the world championships have qualified for the Olympic Games to be hosted by the French capital between the 26th July and the 11th August 2024. At the previous edition of the Olympic Games, hosted by Japan, Romanian rowers won three medals, one gold in the womens double sculls and two silver in the mens four and mens pair, finishing fourth in the general classification.

With the five medals won the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Romania ranked fourth, behind The Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. Last year, at the World Championships in Račice, in the Czech Republic, Romania won four medals. (CM)

11 September 2023
September 9, 2023 UPDATE

Drone. The identification by the
Romanian authorities on the Romanian territory, near the border with Ukraine,
of new drone parts similar to those used by the Russian army indicates that an
absolutely unacceptable violation has taken place of the sovereign air space of
NATO member Romania, posing real risks to the security of Romanian citizens
living in the area, said president Klaus Iohannis on Saturday. He again firmly
condemned Russia’s repeated strikes against Ukraine’s population and civilian
infrastructure, including against Ukraine’s Danube river ports, near the border
with Romania. He also said he spoke over the phone on Saturday with NATO
secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, briefing him on the latest developments,
with the latter reiterating full solidarity with Romania. Stoltenberg posted
on social media that there is no indication of Russian intent to hit NATO, but the
strikes are destabilising. The defence ministry in Bucharest announced
that parts of a drone
similar to those used by the Russian army were found on Saturday by Romanian
Navy military in Tulcea county, near the border with Ukraine. These attacks
are unjustified and gravely at odds with the rules of international
humanitarian law, being tantamount to war crimes, the defence ministry has
emphasised.

Finance.
Fitch rating agency affirmed Romania’s government debt rating at BBB-/F3 for
the long and short term hard currency debt and a stable outlook, said the finance
ministry. According to the agency, the decision is supported by the country’s
EU member status and the positive evolution of its GDP per capita. It also
highlights Romania’s stable public debt and the downward trend of the inflation
rate. Fitch also expects Romania’s economy to see a 2.9% growth rate this year
and 3.2% next year, as the country will benefit from considerable European
funds, both as part of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework and the
Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. The agency’s decision to affirm Romania
sovereign debt rating and maintain its stable outlook are, according to finance
minister Marcel Boloş, a strong signal that the country is on the right track
and that we have the trust of international investors and partners. The
announcement recognises our continued efforts to keep the budget deficit in
check, support business and promote sustainable economic development, Boloş
also said.

Earthquake. The Romanian authorities
are in close contact with the Moroccan authorities and are ready to provide
assistance, said prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. Thousands of people were killed
and injured in a strong quake that hit Morocco on Friday night, causing huge
damage and wreaking panic in Marrakesh, a popular tourist destination, as well
as in other cities. The quake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. Sad about the
disaster in Morocco. Our thoughts go out to the families of those who lost
their lives in this tragedy. We wish the injured a speedy recovery, Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis posted on social media. The quake triggered a wave of
solidarity around the world, with many countries, including Israel, offering to
help the Moroccan authorities. Algeria offered to open air space, closed since September
2021, to allow humanitarian flights.

Rowing.
Romania won three medals in Satruday’s finals at the World Rowing Championships
in Belgrade: silver in the women’s four and bronze in the women’s pair and the
women’s lightweight double sculls. Romanian rowers will compete on Sunday in
three more finals: women’s double sculls, men’s eight and women’s eight. Last
year, Romania won four medals at the World Rowing Championships in Racice, in
the Czech Republic. (CM)

9 September 2023
Radio Romania International Sports club

One of Romania’s greatest athletes has recently celebrated his 89th birthday anniversary. A time-honored veteran of our Olympic champions, born on July 22nd, 1934, Leon Rotman was the first Romanian to have won two gold medals at the same edition of the Olympic Games, in Melbourne, in 1956.

Leon Rotman was born in the old Bucharest neighborhood of Dudesti, into the family of a Jewish store-keeper. When he was 15 and still an apprentice with the Timpuri Noi plants, Leon Rotman took up training on the premises of Flacara club’s wrestling hall, being one of the 67-kilgram hopefuls. In 1952, when on the shores of the Floreasca lake, he discovered the nautical sports. Soon afterwards he was granted membership of Dinamo Bucharest Sports club’s kayak-canoe section. Rotman was quick to persuade his coaches that his place was definitely in the men’s canoe single boat. It didn’t take Rotman too long to succeed a string of wins at national level, so much so that he gained membership of the delegation representing Romania at the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956. Back then, three of the four gold medals won in the men’s canoe events went to the Romanian rowers, who had no problem outclassing their challengers from Russia and Hungary, then the dominating powers in the nautical sports.

Rotman’s s first noteworthy victory occurred in the 10,000m race. The Romanian had problems registering for the event since his boat was slightly bent, an official irregularity according to the competition’s organizers. Rotman was given another boat, but that also had a problem: it was longer than officially stipulated. The canoe was shortened with a saw, then during the race Rotman displayed his force and talent, defeating the favorites of the 10,000m race, the Hungarians János Parti and István Hernek as well as the then Soviet Genady Bukharin. Rotman won the race being 80 meters ahead of the runner-up rower, Janos Parti.

The 1,000m race followed. This time around as well, Rotman was the favorite. He confirmed, and yet again won the race; with Hungary’s Hernek being Rotman’s runner-up rower. Just like in the 10,000m race, the bronze medal went to Bukharin. The third gold medal won by the Romanian rowers in Melbourne went to Alexe Dumitru and Simion Ismailciuc, in the 1,000m men’s canoe double race.

In 1960 at the Olympics Games in Rome, the Romanian rowers won only one medal, again through Leon Rotman, who walked home with bronze in the 1, 000m men’s canoe single race.

26 July 2023
Sports Roundup

Romania finished the 2023 World Rowing Under 23 Championships held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with 2 wins. On Saturday, the Romanian womens quadruple sculls team comprising Emanuela-Ioana Ciotău, Alexandra Ungureanu, Cristina Drugă and Patricia Cireş, won the gold. The next day, in the double sculls race, Andrada-Maria Moroşanu and Iulia-Liliana Bălăucă also won the gold medals. These results placed Romania on the 6th place in the nations ranking, which was topped by Italy with a total of 9 medals, 5 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.

The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan won the WTA 125 tournament in Iaşi, which had EUR 100,000 in total prize money. In the final on Sunday, she defeated another Romanian, Irina Begu, 6-2, 6-3, to win the competition in Iaşi for the second year in a row. Bogdan, 30, seed no. 2 in the tournament and currently no. 49 WTA, won the match in 1 h and 24 minutes. Begu, 32, seed no. 1 and no. 31 in the world, won EUR 6,960 and 95 WTA points. Ana Bogdan takes home EUR 13,040 and 160 WTA points. In the same tournaments doubles final, the Romanians Irina Bara and Monica Niculescu were defeated by Veronika Erjavec and Dalila Jakupovic (Slovenia), 6-4, 6-4.

The World Swimming Championships continue in Fukuoka, Japan. David Popovici, the defending world champion in the 100 and 200m freestyle events, entered the competition on Monday morning. He qualified into the semifinals of the 200m race, with the final scheduled for Tuesday.

This weekend also saw matches counting towards the second leg of the Romanian football Super League. On Friday Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe won 1-0 on home turf against FC U Craiova 1948, while CFR Arad defeated the local team UTA 3-1. On Saturday, Farul Constanţa beat FC Voluntari 4-1, and FCSB won the derby against Dinamo, 2-1. On Sunday, Hermannstadt outplayed Poli Iaşi 3-1 away from home, with Rapid Bucharest winning the match against Universitatea Cluj 3-0. Three teams are top of the current ranking, with 6 points each: Farul, CFR and FCSB. (AMP)

24 July 2023
July 9, 2023 UPDATE

DIICOT The situation in several old people’s homes close to
Bucharest, where prosecutors had identified organized crime groups who were
exploiting and mistreating old and disabled people was being analyzed by the
Romanian government on Sunday. The country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu,
has summoned several ministers and officials in the field and has announced
that inspections are to be carried out in all the foster centers for children,
the elderly and disabled people across the country. The Prime Minister has
asked for ‘zero tolerance for the crime groups who robbed those helpless
people’ and has announced that jointly with the Minister of Justice he set the
solution to this issue as a top priority. ‘What was happening in these ‘centers
of horror’ have shown us the total dehumanization of some persons that I cannot
call people.’ No resignations or dismissals have been announced. According to
DIICOT prosecutors, besides the poor conditions offered, the victims were
forced to do the most humiliating works. At the same time the abusers used to
be announced beforehand by their accomplices in various state institutions
about the upcoming inspections, allowing them to keep the abuses secret.
According to DIICOT sources, in two years the crime ring under investigation
managed to siphon off roughly 740 thousand Euros from several social assistance
directions in Ilfov and Bucharest. Some of those involved have been placed in
temporary custody for 30 days, whereas others are under house arrest or judicial
control.

SUMMIT Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will be participating in
the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, the presidential
administration in Bucharest has announced. The summit is to include three
high-level meetings of the North-Atlantic Council, in formats, which also
include Ukraine, the European Union as well as NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners. At
the summit, the Romanian president is expected to underline the fundamental
importance of continuing the implementation of the Madrid decisions on
strengthening the allied defence and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank.
Iohannis will also reiterate the robust support for Ukraine, including its
NATO’s accession, as well as for the most vulnerable partners, especially for
the Republic of Moldova. According to the same sources, the head of the
Romanian state will be also referring to the need for having the importance of
the Black Sea region in the Euro-Atlantic security reflected in the allied
documents and decisions. In Vilnius, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is
expecting that most allies announce their commitment to increasing defence
budgets to over 2% of the GDP starting next year. He said in Brussles that 11
member countries, Romania included, had already fulfilled this commitment.

FAIR The Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair ended in Brasov,
southern Romania on Sunday. During the five-day event, the almost 40 exhibitors
put on displays thousands of books for all tastes and ages, music, educational
games and self-development books. The event also included book launches,
conferences and debates attended by local writers and not only by them. Adrian
Lesenciuc, poet, prose and essay-writer as well as literary critic was the
honorary president of the present edition.

POLICE Romanian policemen last week enforced 19 European arrest
warrants and 589 people, who are the subject of alerts in the Schengen
Information System, have been located on Romania’s territory. According to a
Romanian police communiqué, 30 documents and 45 vehicles sought by the Schengen
partners have been seized in Romania to be used as evidence within legal
procedures. At the same time, 199 people wanted by the Romanian authorities
have been identified by foreign partners on their territory, the communiqué also
says.

MEDALS Romania won six medals on Sunday in the World Rowing Cup III
in Lucerne, Switzerland: two gold, three silver and one bronze. In the medal
ranking, Romania came third after Britain and the Netherlands. The Romanian
women’s four and double scull became gold medalists in Lucerne.

(bill)

9 July 2023
June 24, 2023 – UPDATE

PRICES
Romania is the EU member country with the smallest prices for foodstuffs and soft
drinks, according to the European Statistics Office. Specifically, in Romania, such
products were nearly 30% cheaper than the European average. In fact, Romania
also saw the lowest levels of household end consumer prices. At the opposite
pole, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg are the most expensive countries to live
in. The most significant differences were in terms of alcohol and tobacco
prices-such products are over 3 times more expensive in Denmark compared to Bulgaria.
The latter country also reports the lowest prices in the hospitality industry.

ENERGY The European Commission approved the takeover
of the Romanian operations of the Italian utilities group Enel by the Public
Power Corporation (PPC) in Greece. The EC reached the conclusion that the
takeover raises no competition concerns, given that the operations of the 2
companies do not overlap. Enel announced in March it would sell its Romanian
operation to PPC for EUR 1.26 bln, in a plan to reduce debt and focus on green
energy. Enel group, which operated in Romania since 2005, is currently a major
player in energy supply and distribution, in renewable energy and advanced
energy services. It services over 3 million consumers in 3 major regions in
Romania. With the takeover completed, the Greek group Public Power Corporation becomes
the largest player in the electricity market in South-Eastern Europe.

BLOUSE The Romanian blouse was celebrated this year as
well on 24 June, both in the country and in Romanian communities around the
world. The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse is a cultural diplomacy
instrument and a means to promote Romanian culture and traditions. The country
hosted events devoted to the traditional blouse, ia, including an Art Safary
exhibition of folk costumes in Bucharest, screenings and creative workshops for
children, as well as a fashion show featuring the traditional blouse as a street
wear element. Some museums, including the Ethnography Museum in Braşov and ASTRA
Museum in Sibiu, received visitors free of charge if they came dressed in
traditional blouses. Last year the Romanian blouse was included in the UNESCO Heritage list.

THEATRE
The central Romanian city of Sibiu, a European capital of culture in 2007, is
hosting the International Theatre Festival, currently in its 30th
year. This year’s theme is Miracle.
Until 2 July, 825 indoor and outdoor events
will take place, bringing together some 5,000 artists and guests from 75 countries.
All the outdoor performances are free of charge. The festival also keeps its
online section, which includes 40 shows. The official opening took place on
Friday night, with the play A Cathedral Full of Organs staged at the Lutheran
Cathedral of St. Mary in Sibiu.

HOLIDAY Orthodox and Greek-Catholic
Christians celebrated on Saturday the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the
last Old Testament prophet. St. John the Baptist was born 6 months before Jesus;
he urged people to repent their sins and baptised them in the River Jordan. John
also baptised Jesus, presenting him to the world as the Messiah. The Christian
feast day of St. John the Baptist overlaps a pre-Christian tradition in which
24 June was devoted to the Sânziene, gentle fairies believed to bring fertility
and wealth.

ROWING Romania’s Cătălin Chirilă won the silver in the men’s canoe single
500m final on Saturday at the European Games in Krakow-Malopolska (Poland). This
was the 4th medal for Romania, after Bianca Ghelber won the silver in
the hammer throw event, athlete Andrea Miklos won the bronze in the 400 m race,
and Ştefan Comănescu also came in 3rd at the 67 kg kumite.
Romania takes part in the European Games in Krakow-Malopolska, between 21 June
and 2 July with 150 athletes in 18 disciplines. (AMP)

24 June 2023
Romanian rowers on the European Championships podium

Romania finished second in the medal standing by
country at the European Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, with 5 gold
medals and a silver one.

The last day of the competition brought Romania most
of the medals. Ionela Cozmiuc won the champion title in lightweight women’s single
sculls, then Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel did the same in the women’s pair
final, while world and Olympic champions Simona Radiș and Ancuța Bodnar won the
women’s double sculls race.

Last year, Ionela Cozmiuc won her first European
champion title in the lightweight women’s single sculls, which however is not
an Olympic event. She also won the event’s final at the World Championships in
the Czech Republic, and now she has added yet another gold medal to her track
record.

Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel deployed excellent
tactics in the final, and came ahead of the Dutch team by over one second at
the end. Last year in Munich, Ioana Vrînceanu won the continental title
together with Denisa Tâlvescu.

In Bled, Simona Radiș and Ancuța Bodnar had the
toughest competition since 2019, when they won the silver medal at the European
Championships in Lucerne. They have dominated this event in all major
competitions since, by significant margins, as was the case last year both in
the European and the World championships. They have 4 European champions titles
in the women’s double sculls – in 2020 in Poznan, in 2021 in Varese, in 2022 in
Munich, and now in Bled.

The last day of the competition, Sunday the 28 May,
ended with yet another victory for Romania, in the women’s eight. The Romanians
defeated teams from Italy, the UK and Germany. Of the 9 athletes in the Romanian
team, 7 have 2 gold medals each in this year’s continental championships.

On Saturday, Romania had won another gold medal in
Bled, in the women’s quadruple sculls final. The Romanians defeated the UK and
Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the European and World champions Marius
Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan, who on Saturday won the European silver in the men’s
eight race, on Sunday finished way behind their opponents, finishing 5th.
In the men’s quadruple sculls final, the Romanian team were very close to
getting the gold, but in spite of a strong finish they were unable to catch up
with the French team. Last year, the same Romanian team won the bronze in
Munich. In fact, the European Championships in Munich in 2022 saw the best
performance in the history of Romanian rowing, with 5 gold and 3 bronze medals.
(AMP)

29 May 2023
Sports weekend

The European Rowing Championships are underway in Bled, Slovenia. Qualifiers have been scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Several Romanian rowers who competed on Thursday have secured their direct qualification to the finals. Among them, the the Romanian womens double scull, four scull and women s pair crews secured their qualification. Joining them was Ionela Cozmiuc in the lightweight womens single sculls. Also competing in the final are Romanian mens quadruple sculls and coxed eight crews.

In news from mens basketball, title holders U BT Cluj Napoca on aggregate have a 3-2 lead in the final of the Championships ongoing edition. U BT Cluj Napoca play CSM CSU Oradea. On Thursday, Cluj grabbed a 81-62 win against Oradea, U-BT Cluj Napoca need only one win if they want to grab the title. It would be the eighth in the clubs history and the third title in a row. The final is being played according to the best in seven games system. The sixth of the seven matches is scheduled in Cluj Napocas multi-purpose sports hall this coming Sunday.

In volleyball, both womens and mens, matches counting towards the Golden League European competition kick-start later this week. Romanian womens national team plays its debut game against Slovakia, in Pitesti. Then the national squad play an away match against the Czech Republic on June 3rd. Also in Pitesti, the return leg against The Czech Republic is scheduled on June 8th. The Romanian womens national teams last fixture is an away confrontation against Slovakia on June 17.The mens national squad this coming Saturday play Portugal, away from home. Also away from home are the games against Denmark and Turkey, on May 31st and June 4th, respectively. Romanias last three fixtures are scheduled on home court, in Brasov, on June the 10th against Turkey, on June 14th against Denmark and against Portugal, on June 18th.

Group 1 closing matches counting towards the Romanian football Super Leagues tenth round are played at the weekend. On Saturday, on the National Arena in Bucharest, FCSB play Rapid Bucharest. On Sunday, CFR Cluj plays a home game against Farul Constanta, while in Craiova, the local team Universitatea plays Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Farul Constanta and FCSB have already secured the top and the runner-up position, respectively. The fight is only open for the 3rd place, which secures a position in the Conference Leagues playoffs. In this fight, Cluj are two points clear of Craiova.

26 May 2023
Sports weekend

The European Rowing Championships are underway in Bled, Slovenia. Qualifiers have been scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Several Romanian rowers who competed on Thursday have secured their direct qualification to the finals. Among them, the the Romanian womens double scull, four scull and women s pair crews secured their qualification. Joining them was Ionela Cozmiuc in the lightweight womens single sculls. Also competing in the final are Romanian mens quadruple sculls and coxed eight crews.

In news from mens basketball, title holders U BT Cluj Napoca on aggregate have a 3-2 lead in the final of the Championships ongoing edition. U BT Cluj Napoca play CSM CSU Oradea. On Thursday, Cluj grabbed a 81-62 win against Oradea, U-BT Cluj Napoca need only one win if they want to grab the title. It would be the eighth in the clubs history and the third title in a row. The final is being played according to the best in seven games system. The sixth of the seven matches is scheduled in Cluj Napocas multi-purpose sports hall this coming Sunday.

In volleyball, both womens and mens, matches counting towards the Golden League European competition kick-start later this week. Romanian womens national team plays its debut game against Slovakia, in Pitesti. Then the national squad play an away match against the Czech Republic on June 3rd. Also in Pitesti, the return leg against The Czech Republic is scheduled on June 8th. The Romanian womens national teams last fixture is an away confrontation against Slovakia on June 17.The mens national squad this coming Saturday play Portugal, away from home. Also away from home are the games against Denmark and Turkey, on May 31st and June 4th, respectively. Romanias last three fixtures are scheduled on home court, in Brasov, on June the 10th against Turkey, on June 14th against Denmark and against Portugal, on June 18th.

Group 1 closing matches counting towards the Romanian football Super Leagues tenth round are played at the weekend. On Saturday, on the National Arena in Bucharest, FCSB play Rapid Bucharest. On Sunday, CFR Cluj plays a home game against Farul Constanta, while in Craiova, the local team Universitatea plays Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Farul Constanta and FCSB have already secured the top and the runner-up position, respectively. The fight is only open for the 3rd place, which secures a position in the Conference Leagues playoffs. In this fight, Cluj are two points clear of Craiova.

26 May 2023
May 21, 2023 UPDATE

EDUCATION On Monday the staff in Romania’s public undergraduate
education will go on strike, the trade unions in the sector announced after
Sunday’s talks with government officials. The protest will continue until
unions have received a credible solution from the government, the leader of
the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation, Marius Nistor, said. The government put
forth a clear roadmap for the endorsement of the new salary law and promised pay
raises for non-teaching staff, which according to unionists would only amount
to EUR 20 a month. Financial incentives for entry-level teachers and experienced
staff teaching in underprivileged areas have also been proposed. The higher
education staff will also go on token strikes as of Monday, the head of the Alma
Mater National Trade Union Federation Anton Hadăr announced. Trade unions said
negotiations would continue in the coming days.

MOLDOVA
A large-scale rally was held in Chişinău on Sunday, at the initiative of
president Maia Sandu, in order to prove Moldovans’ support for the country’s EU
accession. Europe is the Republic of Moldova. The Republic of Moldova is
Europe. Moldova is not alone, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta
Metsola said in Romanian at the European Moldova National Assembly. Participants
adopted a resolution confirming the support of Moldovan citizens for the
country’s EU accession efforts. The rally takes place as the Republic of
Moldova, an EU accession candidate country, would like to begin accession
negotiations by the end of this year. For this stage to begin, Moldova must
complete 9 recommendations, which will be assessed by this autumn in a European
Commission report. In Bucharest, the Organisation of Moldovan Students
organised a similar rally in front of Moldova’s Embassy. Scores of people
watched the speeches in Chisinau jointly with the Moldovan Ambassador to
Bucharest, Victor Chirila.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu takes part on
Monday in the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. The EU
foreign ministers will discuss measures to mitigate the effects of Russia’s
aggression in Ukraine and the situation in the Horn of Africa. The EU officials
will also touch on the bloc’s commitment in Central Asia, developments in Tunisia,
the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the context of high-level EU
diplomatic contacts with both countries. According to the Romanian foreign
ministry, Bogdan Aurescu will reiterate Romania’s firm, multidimensional and
continuing support for Ukraine and will express hopes that an agreement will be
reached as soon as possible on the 8th support package for the
Ukrainian air forces under the EU Peace Facility. Minister Aurescu will also
highlight the importance of keeping pressure on Russia by consolidating
sanctions, and will reiterate the idea of setting up a special international tribunal
for the crime of aggression to prosecute Russian crimes of aggression during
the war in Ukraine.

RAILWAYS The president of Romania’s Competition Council, Bogdan
Chiriţoiu, made statements concerning Carpatica Feroviar, a new company that
will take over the operations of the state-owned railway freight corporation CFR
Marfă. The new company will take over the profitable contracts and the
equipment needed for completing them, while the other assets will be sold in order
to cover as much as possible of the old company’s debts to the state budget
Chiriţoiu explained. He emphasised that current operations will not be
discontinued. The financial performance of CFR Marfă improved slightly in 2022,
but the company still owes some EUR 400 mln to the state budget and social
security budget.

BEEKEEPERS Romanian beekeepers say they are left with large amounts
of unsold honey because of imports of cheaper and poorer-quality honey. The
head of the Romanian Beekeepers Association, Ioan Fetea, says the situation is
particularly serious as last year’s yield was a lot smaller than in previous
years. Last year beekeepers saw modest yields, but they could not even sell those,
precisely because of these dumping practices, obviously explained by the fact
that that honey is not in line with EU regulations. Almost half of the honey
imported into Europe is adulterated, counterfeit, and obviously sold very
cheaply, which puts tremendous pressure on local producers, Fetea explained. Beekeepers
are also struggling with a fall in the number of bee families, because of the
use of insecticides in agriculture.

UKRAINE The US president Joe Biden Sunday announced new military aid
measures for Ukraine, following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. The new aid package will
consist of ammunitions, artillery and armoured vehicles, Joe Biden explained, just
days after approving the provision of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. According
to Reuters, this new package is worth up to USD 375 mln and is designed to
strengthen Ukraine’s defence in the war against Russia. The British PM Rishi
Sunak also announced in Hiroshima that his country would start training
Ukrainian pilots this summer, to support Ukraine’s air forces in the conflict.
Rishi Sunak added that no one wants peace more than Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but
the terms for peace, he added, should be based on Ukraine’s principles. In the
3-day summit in Japan, the G7 nations voiced their willingness to stand by
Ukraine in the long run.

ROWING Romania won 2 gold and 3 silver medals at
the 2023 European Rowing Under 19 Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France,
in which it took part with 11 boats. Romania came out second in the overall nations
tables, behind Italy and ahead of Turkey. In last year’s competition, Romania
had won 5 medals (3 gold, one silver and one bronze), and finished top of the
ranking by nations. (AMP)

21 May 2023
Athlete of the week

The first major rowing competition of 2023 was held last week in Hungarys Szeged.

The 2023 ICF Canoe and Kayak Sprint & Paracanoe World Cup brought together Europes top-notch rowers, with world and European champions among them. The Romanian delegation was made of nine rowers, of which seven competed in the mens and two proved their mettle in the womens version of the competition. The record all told earned the Romanian delegation the 3rd position according to the nations competition.

Cătălin Chirilă won gold in mens C1 event, in the 500m and 1,000m races. Ilie Sprincean and Oleg Nuţă won mens C2 1,000m race. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Catalin Chirila the Athlete of the week.

In Szeged, Cătălin Chirilă won his first race on Friday, in the 500m mens C1 race, an event where he is a world vice-champion and a bronze medallist at the European championships. Chirila clocked one minute and 50 seconds and 72 hundredths of a second. Chirila was followed was Moldavian Sergey Tarnovsky, who arrived one second and 72 hundredths of a second later, and the French Loic Leonard, who arrived 3 seconds and 57 hundredths later than Chirila. On Saturday, in the mens C1 1000m race defending world champion Catalin Chirila started off as favorite. Chirila clocked 3 minutes, 55 de seconds and 10 hundredths of a second, outperforming many-time world champion, German Conrad Scheibner, who finished the race nearly two seconds later than Chirila. Catalin Chirila also outclassed Polands Wiktor Glazunow, who finished the race almost 4 seconds later than Chirila.

Cătălin Chirilă was born in Tulcea, on May 11, 1998. He is signed up by Steaua Bucharest. Army Club. Chirilas first notable world-level performances occurred in mens C2 events, jointly with Victor Mihalachi. In 2019, at the European championships hosted by Minsk in Belarus, Chirila and Mihalachi won the gold medals in the 1000m race. In 2021, at the European championships in Polands Poznan, Chirila and Mihalachi won bronze, also in the 1000m race. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Chirilă and Mihalachi came in 5th. Since 2022, Chirila has been competing in mens singles events. At the World Championships in Halifax, Canada, Chirila won the 1000m Olympic race and came in 2nd in the 500m race. At the European Championships in Munich, Catalin Chirila again won the 1000m race, coming in 3rd in the 500m race.

16 May 2023
Athlete of the week

The first major rowing competition of 2023 was held last week in Hungarys Szeged.

The 2023 ICF Canoe and Kayak Sprint & Paracanoe World Cup brought together Europes top-notch rowers, with world and European champions among them. The Romanian delegation was made of nine rowers, of which seven competed in the mens and two proved their mettle in the womens version of the competition. The record all told earned the Romanian delegation the 3rd position according to the nations competition.

Cătălin Chirilă won gold in mens C1 event, in the 500m and 1,000m races. Ilie Sprincean and Oleg Nuţă won mens C2 1,000m race. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Catalin Chirila the Athlete of the week.

In Szeged, Cătălin Chirilă won his first race on Friday, in the 500m mens C1 race, an event where he is a world vice-champion and a bronze medallist at the European championships. Chirila clocked one minute and 50 seconds and 72 hundredths of a second. Chirila was followed was Moldavian Sergey Tarnovsky, who arrived one second and 72 hundredths of a second later, and the French Loic Leonard, who arrived 3 seconds and 57 hundredths later than Chirila. On Saturday, in the mens C1 1000m race defending world champion Catalin Chirila started off as favorite. Chirila clocked 3 minutes, 55 de seconds and 10 hundredths of a second, outperforming many-time world champion, German Conrad Scheibner, who finished the race nearly two seconds later than Chirila. Catalin Chirila also outclassed Polands Wiktor Glazunow, who finished the race almost 4 seconds later than Chirila.

Cătălin Chirilă was born in Tulcea, on May 11, 1998. He is signed up by Steaua Bucharest. Army Club. Chirilas first notable world-level performances occurred in mens C2 events, jointly with Victor Mihalachi. In 2019, at the European championships hosted by Minsk in Belarus, Chirila and Mihalachi won the gold medals in the 1000m race. In 2021, at the European championships in Polands Poznan, Chirila and Mihalachi won bronze, also in the 1000m race. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Chirilă and Mihalachi came in 5th. Since 2022, Chirila has been competing in mens singles events. At the World Championships in Halifax, Canada, Chirila won the 1000m Olympic race and came in 2nd in the 500m race. At the European Championships in Munich, Catalin Chirila again won the 1000m race, coming in 3rd in the 500m race.

16 May 2023
The 2022 Sports year, in retrospect (II)

In July 2022, the headline-hitting event of
the month was the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the year’s third Grand Slam
competition, which confirmed that Simona Halep still is Romania’s top-flight
tennis player of all time, Halep was the only Romanian to have reached as far
as the semifinals, given that Romania had seven tennis players on the main
draw. However, Halep conceded defeat to Kazakhstan’s Yelena Rybakina.

Concurrently, the Romanian delegation
walked away with no les than nine medals in the European Juniors’ Swimming Championships
held in Otopnei, nearby Bucharest, of which five were gold. The medals went to
the men’s 4 by 100m relay team, to David
Popovici in the 50, 100, 200m freestyle events and to Vlad Ștefan Stancu, who
came in first in the 1.500m freestyle event.

Also in July at the
World Fencing Championship in Cairo, Iulian Teodosiu a won bronze in the
individual sabre event.

Late in July, tennis
player Ana Bogdan played her first WTA tournament final in Warsaw, sustaining a
defeat by Caroline Garcia.

August 2022 was also eventful in terms of
top-flight performances, At the World Kayak-canoe Championships in Canada, in
the 1000m men’s singles Olympic race Cătălin Chirilă won the world title and
walked home with the solver medal in the 500m race.

At the European Swimming Championships in Rome,
in the 100m event David Popovici clocked 46 seconds and 86 hundredths. Popovici
broke the world record held by the Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho, who also in
Rome, this time at the World Championships in 2009, clocked 46 seconds and 91
hundredths. We recall that back then the special speed-enhancing swimsuits were
still officially allowed. Popovici was a whisker away from repeating his performance
in the 200m European final. The 200m race defending champion David Popovici claimed
the title in style, clocking one minute, 47 seconds and 97 hundredths, the new Juniors’
European and world record, as well as the record of the competition.

Also in August, the European multi-discipline
sports championships were held in Munich. In athletics, Bianca Ghelber won gold in the hammer-throw
event, with a throw of 72 de meters and 72 de centimetres. Also in Munich, rower
Cătălin Chirilă won gold in the 1,000m men’s singles race and silver in the
500m race.

In table tennis, Bernadette
Szőcs won gold in the women’s doubles, jointly with Austria’s Sofia Polkonova,
din Austria, and silver, in the mixed doubles event, jointly with Ovidiu
Ionescu.

At the World Juniors’ Swimming
Championships held in Lima, in September, Romanbia came in 4th in
the nations’ competition. The Romanian delegation won two gold and two silver medals. Three times did David
Popovici climb onto the first step of the podium, in the 100m freestyle in the
200m race and in the 4 by 100 freestyle relay event.

In tennis, in a Davis Cupo
confrontation, Romania sustained a 1-3 defeat by Slovakia in the World group’s
first round.

Rowing again provided the best results for Romania. At the World Rowing
Championships in Racice, the Czech Republic. Romania came in 3rd in
the nations’ competitions, while Great Britain and Italy were top of the table
and the runner-up team, respectively. Stepping onto the highest step of the
podium was Ionela Cozmiuc in the women’s lightweight event. Also 1st
placed was the men’s double scull crew made of Marius
Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan. The gold medal also went to the women’s lightweight pair
crew made of Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș and the women’s coxed eight crew.

A notable WTA 250 tennis tournament was held in Cluj Napoca. It was
the year’s leading professional competition hosted by Romania. Russia’ s Ana
Blinkova emerged as winner, having outclassed Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the
final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

At the European Under-23 and Juniors’ Weightlifting Championships in
Albania, Romania won 30 de medals, of which 7 were gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze.
In the Under-23 category, gold went to 55-kilogram category competitor Valentin
Iancu, in the snatch and clean-and-jerk styles and in the combined total. In
the juniors’ event, 49-kilogram category competitor Mihaela Cambei also won
gold, in the snatch and clean-and-jerk styles and in the combined total. In
Also in the Juniors’ competition, 45-kilogram competitor Cosmin Isofache won
gold, in the combined total.

At the European Women’s Handball Championships, jointly hosted by Slovenia,
Montenegro and North Macedonia, Romania came in 12th, the same as in
the championship’s previous edition, hosted by Denmark in 2020. Inside-left Romanian
handballer Cristina Neagu was included in the tournament All-Stars team. Ahead
of the 2023 edition of the World Cup Romania’s national rugby team played three
test-matches in Bucharest, defeating Chile, 30-23, then losing to Uruguay, 16 – 21, and Samoa, nil-22.

At the World Weightlifting championship held in
Bogota, Colombia, in December, 71-kilogram-category competitor Loredana Toma won
gold in the snatch style and in the combined total. Toma performed a deadlift
of 119 kilograms in the snatch style, which is the category’s new world record. Also
in December, as part of the World Short-course Swimming Championships in Melbourne,
David Popovici won silver in the 200m freestyle event,
In the 10m freestyle even, Popovici came in 4th and set a new World Juniors’
record. (EN)

28 December 2022
Romanian rowing, among the best in the world once again

Romania won four gold medals at the World Rowing Championships in Racice, the Czech Republic, that ended on Sunday. The Romanian athletes are third in the nation’s medal count, after Britain, with 7 gold medals, 1 silver and 4 bronze and Italy, with 5 gold medals, 3 silver and 1 bronze. Ionela Cozmiuc brought Romania its first medal on Friday, in women’s single lightweight. A European champion, she was the favorite to winning the competition. She had a difficult start, however being only third after the first quarter of the race. She then managed to outrun the second boat, being shortly behind the first place at a difference of one and a half seconds. She finally secured first place, two seconds ahead of Martine Veldhuis of the Netherlands. Jackie Kiddle of New Zealand came out third in this category.

In the men’s double-scull event, Marius Cozmiuc, the husband of Ionela Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan won gold on Saturday. They are also European champions at this category while Marius won Olympic silver last year alongside Ciprian Tudosa. In Racice, Cozmiuc and Bejan finished the race by more than one second ahead of the Spanish team, who raked second and almost three seconds ahead of the British team, who finished third placed.

The Romanian women’s double sculls team made up of Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis, Olympic and European champions, brought Romania gold on Sunday. They had no problems in winning the race, almost three seconds ahead of the team from the Netherlands. Ireland ended the race third placed, more than five seconds behind the Romanians. One of the Romanian athletes, Ancuta Bodnar, turned 24 on Sunday, when she won gold. Simona Radis won another gold medal with the women’s eight crew. The Romanian boat dominated the race and was four seconds ahead of the second place, the Netherlands and six and a half seconds ahead of the third placed, Canada. Romania had not won the 8+1 category at a world championship since 2017, when they competed on Sarasota lake in Florida, the US.

The wins of the Romanian rowing teams come two years ahead the Olympic Games due in Paris. Given the recent results, Romania may bring home most Olympic medals in 2024. (EE)

26 September 2022