Radio România Internațional

Tag: sports

  • Simona Halep retires from tennis

    Simona Halep retires from tennis

    One of the greatest Romanian athletes, tennis player Simona Halep, announced her retirement at the age of 33.

     

     

    “It is tough to see such a great champion leave the sport”, the Americans from The Tennis Letter, a platform specializing in information on this sport, wrote after the Simona Halep’s announcement that she is retiring. The athlete from Constanţa (southeast) has inspired countless people along the way, The Tennis Letter also wrote.

     

    “I don’t know if it’s sadness or joy. It’s probably both. But I make this decision with an easy heart. I have always been realistic about myself. My body is not strong enough to take me to the level where I probably was. It’s very hard to get there and I know what it means to get there.” These are Simona’s words, said after losing the match to the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, on Tuesday, in Cluj-Napoca (northwest), in the first round of  Transylvania Open. Simona later said in a press conference: “I am at peace, I know that I did nothing wrong in tennis. All I want now is to get some rest. I am a professional tennis player who is exhausted from a professional viewpoint and I want to rest. I don’t want to make plans anymore so I will take things as they come and see what happens”.

     

    Simona Halep is, as the numbers show, the greatest tennis player in Romanian history. She was world number one for 64 weeks, between 2017 and 2019, the peak years of her career. She has two Grand Slam titles – the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019 – as well as three other finals played in the most important tennis competitions: two at the French Open (2014, 2017) and one at the Australian Open (2018). She also finished runner-up at the 2014 WTA Finals.

     

    Starting from 2013, the year of her first performance in the big league, she has won 24 titles in total. She won over 40 million dollars from tennis, being in 3rd place all-time, after the Williams sisters. She defeated the younger one, Serena, in the Wimbledon final. The tennis history has also recorded memorable matches of Simona against athletes of the same caliber, such as Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki.

     

    However, Halep’s most difficult and longest match ever was not played on clay, grass or hard, but in the famous court of arbitration in Lausanne, called to determine whether the Romanian had intentionally doped. In 2022, Halep had tested positive for a banned substance and subsequently suspended for four years. An eternity in tennis and many other sports, especially since, at that time, the Romanian had turned 31. In March last year, following the appeal filed by Halep at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the latter decided that Halep had not intentionally violated anti-doping rules, so the painful match for her own honor was won. She returned to competition, but not at the level she wanted, due to physical problems. The organizers of the French Open and Wimbledon immediately reacted to her the announcement that the Romanian was ending her professional career, evoking her performances and wishing her all the best in her new life, the one after tennis.

     

  • Sports Weekend

    Sports Weekend

    The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, is under way in Melbourne. Jaqueline Cristian, the only Romanian player still in competition in the women’s singles, will be in action on Saturday in the third round. She will be playing Germany’s Eva Lys, no. 128 in the world. Cristian, who is 82 in the world, has so far lost all her three head-to-head matches against Lys.

    It’s news from handball next. Matches are held this weekend in the European women’s competitions. In the Champions League Group A on Saturday, CSM Bucharest will be receiving the Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana, while Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud are playing Podravka Koprivnica away, in Croatia. CSM are in 5th place in the group and Gloria in 6th. In Group B, Rapid Bucharest, who are in 7th place in the ranking, that is the least but last, will be facing the Danish side Odense at home on Sunday.

    In the EHF European League Group A, Dunărea Brăila will face the Norwegian side Larvik away on Saturday, while in Group B, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea will face the Danish side Ikast, also on Saturday. On Wednesday, the two Romanian teams faced each other in a domestic National League match, with Dunărea Brăila winning 31 to 24 at home.

    Let’s end with football. The domestic Superleague championship is being resumed this weekend. Two matches are played on Friday: Unirea Slobozia vs Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe; and FCSB vs. FC Hermannstadt. On Saturday, Universitatea Cluj are playing Gloria Buzău at home; and Oţelul Galaţi are receiving Petrolul Ploieşti. On Sunday, FC Botoşani are playing CFR Cluj at home; and Universitatea Craiova are facing Dinamo Bucharest at home. The leg’s two final matches will be played on Monday, namely Farul Constanţa vs. UTA; and Rapid Bucharest vs. Poli Iaşi.

    At the moment, Universitatea Cluj and FCSB top the ranking with 37 points each. They are followed by Dinamo Bucharest, with 36, and Universitatea Craiova and CFR Cluj, with 35 each. Petrolul Ploieşti are last with 31 points, while Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, with 30 points, and Rapid Bucharest, with 29, are facing demotion.

  • The year 2024 in sports(I)

    The year 2024 in sports(I)

    2024 was an auspicious year for Romanian sports. Romanian athletes’ performance at the Paris Olympics maintained Romania among the world’s elite nations, especially in rowing, a sports discipline where Romanian athletes put on a stellar performance.

    The year’s first notable event was the Australian Open, held in Melbourne in January. No Romanian competitor represented Romania in the men’s singles, while in the women’s version of the tournament, no Romanian tennis player could go past the first round.

    In the men’s doubles, Victor Cornea, jointly with India’s Nsriram Balaji, reached as far as the second round. In the women’s doubles and pairing up with Slovak-born Spanish tennis player Rebeka Masarova, Ana Bogdan stopped also in the second round. Also in January, in high diving, the Romanian Constantin Popovici became the new Red Bull Cliff Diving champion.

    In February, 2024, Romanian wrestlers and weightlifters walked away with medals at the European wrestling championships in Bucharest and the weightlifting championships in Sofia. In wrestling, gold went to Andreea Ana in the 55-kilogram category. Silver went to Kateryna Zelenykh in the 65-kilogram category and to Alexandra Anghel in the 73-kilogram category. Bronze went to Denis Florin Mihai, in the 55-kilogram category and to Răzvan Arnăut in the 60-kilogram category, both in the Greek-Roman style. In weightlifting, Mihaela Cambei in the 49-kilogram category won gold in the snatch, clean-and-jerk styles and combined.

    In the 71-kilogram category, Loredana Toma won gold in the snatch event and combined. In the clean-and-jerk event Valentin Ionadi Iancu won silver in the 61-kilogram category. Also in the clean-and-jerk event Ioana Mădălina Miron and Andreea Cotruţa won bronze, in the 45-and 59-kilogram category, respectively.

    In March, the Kenyan-born Romanian athlete Joan Chelimo Melly won the half-marathon race in Paris. Joan set a new national record. Romanian athletes also compelled recognition in the European throws Cup, held in Portugal’s Leiria. Alin Firfirica won gold in discus throw, then Bianca Ghelber, in the hammer throw event and Alexandru Novac in the javelin throw event won silver. Also in the javelin throw event, this time as part of the U-23 contest, Vlad Alexandru Turcu walked away with bronze. In rugby, the Romania national team came in 4th as part of the 2024 edition of Rugby Europe championship, the second-tier competition after the Six Nations Tournament.

    In April, Corona Braşov won the Erste Liga ice hockey regional competition. In the final, Corona defeated Hungarian opponents Ferencváros in four consecutive matches, two in Brasov and two in Budapest. Then in Bucharest, Hungarian tennis player Márton Fucsovics was the men’s single event as part of the ATP 250 Ţiriac Open, an event with 579 thousand euro in prize money all told. In the final, Fucsovics defeated Argentinean challenger Mariano Navone, cu 6-4, 7-5.

    The European Rowing Championships in Szeged followed, with the Romanian delegation winning no less than eight medals, four gold, two silver and two bronze. Stepping onto the highest step of the podium were women’s lightweight coxed eight and the women’s pair crews as well as men’s double sculls crew. At the European Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Lăcrămioara Perijoc won silver in the 54-kilogram category, while Claudia Nechita wo bronze in the 57-kilogram category.

    At the European women’s gymnastics championship held in Italy’s Rimini in May, the Romanian delegation won two medals. Both silver medals were won by Sabrina Maneca Voinea in the beam and floor finals. In the nations; competition, Romania came in 4th. In women’s handball, CSM Bucharest wasted the opportunity to qualify for the Champions league’s final tournament. In the quarterfinals, holders CSM was defeated in both legs of the tie against French challengers Metz Handball, at home, 24-27, and away, 23-29.

    The summer’s first major event was the European football championship in Germany. The national squad met the set target, that of reaching the knockout phase and even won Group E, which included Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Romanians managed to put on a good performance in all their fixtures and they kind of struck it lucky in the match against Ukraine, which they won, 2-nil. They then they lost to Belgium, a far better team, nil-2 and drew level, 1-all, in the game against Slovakia, one of the tournament’s pleasant surprises,

    For Romania, the team spirit prevailed in each of the fixtures they played at EURO 2024. They fought all throughout the tournament, they put in a lot of effort and determination they could not make up for the difference in status which separates the Romanians from Europe’s great teams. They were unable to go past the round of 16, having lost, in Munich, the game against the Low Countries team, nil-3. However, the Romanians benefitted from the tremendous boost offered by the fans, who were in the stands all the time and frantically supported the team.

  • The Week in Review

    The Week in Review

    A look at the headline-grabbing events of the past week.

     

     Schengen members, at last

     

    The good news of the week, officially confirmed on Thursday, has been Romania’s full accession, alongside with Bulgaria, to the European ​​free movement area. At the end of March, the European partners had agreed to welcome the two states into Schengen with air and sea borders. After the Netherlands and especially Austria decided to no longer oppose, the Justice and Home Affairs Council unanimously approved on Thursday the accession of Romania and Bulgaria with land borders to the Schengen area, as of January 1. Starting with this date, there will be no more checks except at Romania’s borders with Serbia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. However, in the first six months after accession, there will still be alternative or random checks, a security measure to see how the free movement works. Such temporary checks have also been initiated on various internal borders in Schengen, amid an increase in illegal migrants. The authorities in Bucharest welcomed the country’s acceptance into Schengen, emphasizing that the decision translates into faster movement for citizens, lower logistics costs for companies, increased competitiveness of Romanian products and services on the European market as well as business opportunities and jobs.

     

     

    Unfinished election marathon

     

    At the beginning of the week that is ending, Romanians should have known the name of their next president. The second round of the presidential elections had been scheduled for December 8, and should have marked the end of the electoral marathon that began in June with the local and European parliamentary elections. On December 6, however, the Constitutional Court cancelled the election for president, after finding that the electoral process was flawed by multiple irregularities and violations of the electoral legislation. The direct beneficiary of this electoral process, hijacked by Russia’s hybrid attacks, according to intelligence services, would have been the winner of the first round, the independent candidate Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist, who is also anti-West and an admirer of the fascist leaders of the Romanian interwar period. The Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating two of his close associates, former mercenaries. One of them, suspected of planning to cause unrest in the capital Bucharest, is being investigated for failing to comply with the arms and ammunition laws, operations with pyrotechnic objects and public incitement, and the other for using legionary symbols, which had been used by the anti-Semitic and criminal extreme right of the 1930s. The Financial Times carries the opinion of analysts, according to whom the attractiveness of paramilitary groups in Romania, with very “macho” visions, which combine religion with ultra-nationalism, has increased because the authorities have not intervened.

     

     

    Pro-Europeans in the future Parliament negotiate on a joint government

     

    President Klaus Iohannis, whose mandate will be extended until the election of his successor, convened the new Parliament on December 20. Four pro-European parties, PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and three self-proclaimed sovereignists, AUR, SOS Romania and POT, will be part the future Parliament, following the December 1st elections. With almost two-thirds of the mandates, the pro-Europeans, joined by the deputies of national minorities, other than the Hungarian one, have began negotiations this week for a broad coalition government. We recall that, before the second round of the presidential elections, PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the group of national minorities had signed the pact for a pro-European and Euro-Atlantic coalition. The document was aimed at blocking Călin Georgescu’s access to the highest position within the state. After the election was cancelled, the signatories of that document renewed their commitment and now promise a governing program focused on development and reforms, which will take into account the priorities of citizens. They agreed that a clear plan is needed to streamline and reduce public spending and bureaucracy in public administration. They also agreed to increase the current pace of investments and reforms under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

     

     

    Inflation, the never-ending problem

     

    The future executive in Bucharest will face a number of challenges, including restoring trust in the political class and reforming state institutions and, last but not least, economic problems. One of the latter is generated by inflation. Fueled by price increases in postal services, fresh fruit and margarine, the inflation rate increased again compared to the previous month. The annual inflation, reported in November 2024 in comparison with the one November 2023, increased again for the second consecutive month, reaching 5.11% from 4.67% in October. One of the causes of the increase in inflation is the high budget deficit, which the Government is struggling to finance, analysts explain. The latest forecast of the Central Bank shows that inflation will fall below 3.5% per year only in 2026.

     

     

    Sports week

     

    Romania’s football champion, FCSB (Bucharest), drew an equal score with the German team Hoffenheim, on Thursday evening, away, in the 6th round of the Europa League. The Bucharest team is ranked 10th in the group and is very close to qualifying for the European spring. They still have two matches to play in January, the last of which is at home against the famous English team Manchester United. In handball, the Romanian women’s national team ranked 11th at the European Championship hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.

  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    Let’s start with women’s volleyball. Romanian champions CSO Voluntari qualified for the Champions League. In the second leg of the competition’s third round, Voluntari defeated Rabotnicki Skopje from North Macedonia 3-nil at home on Wednesday. They had also won the first leg away 3-nil. Voluntari are playing in Group E alongside the Italian team Scandicci, the Polish team Bielsko-Biala and the German team MTV Stuttgart. Voluntari will play their first match on 6th November in Florence against Scandicci.

    In the Challenge Cup, CSM Târgovişte defeated the Czech team Ostrava 3-1 at home in the first leg of the first round. The second leg will take place next Wednesday in Ostrava. If they advance to the round of last 32, Târgovişte will face another Czech team, Olymp Prague.

    The news in men’s volleyball is not as good. In the first leg of the first Challenge Cup round, SCM Zalău lost to Sporting Lisbon 3-1 away on Wednesday. The Romanians had a good start, winning the first set, but lost the following two. The second leg will be held on 16th October in Zalău. Whoever qualifies will face the Czech team Kladno Volejbal in the last 32.

    Moving on to basketball. CSM CSU Oradea pulled off a dramatic win in their opening match in the Group E of the men’s FIBA Europe Cup, defeating Spojnia Stargard from Poland 77-75 on Wednesday on the Oradea Arena. The Romanian vice-champions, who failed to qualify for the Basketball Champions League, won on the last second of the match thanks to Kris Richard. The host team’s best player was Donatas Tarolis, who scored 21 goals. In the other group match, FC Argeş defeated the Estonian side Parnu Sadam 67-65 in Piteşti. The second leg matches will take place on 16th October: Parnu Sadam vs CSM CSU Oradea and Spojnia Stargard vs FC Argeş.

    In the EuroCup Group B, U-BT Cluj-Napoca lost at home to the Spanish team Valencia Basket 105-96. This is the Romanian champions’ third consecutive group loss ahead of their next match against  Veolia Towers of Hamburg next Tuesday in Germany.

  • The Athlete of the Week

    The Athlete of the Week

    FCSB started their Europa League main group run with a win. The Bucharest-based side defeated the Latvian side RFS 4-1 at home. This was one of the biggest goal differences in the first leg of the competition, after Ajax Amsterdam’s 4-nil win against the Turkish side Beşiktaş. The Romanian champions pulled off one of their best matches this season. Daniel Bîrligea and Marius Ştefănescu scored once and Darius Olaru scored twice, while Ziga Lipuscek scored for the Latvian side. Radio Romania International has designated Darius Olaru the athlete of the week for his excellent performance and the two goals scored.

    In the match against RFS, Olaru was the team captain, despite the presence of Vlad Chiricheş, FCSB’s player with the biggest number of caps for the national side. Olaru scored both goals in the second half. The first came on minute 58, as FCSB were leading 2-1, after a pass from Florin Tănase. Leading by two goals, the Romanian side were more relaxed and 69 minutes into the match Olaru scored again, after a pass from Alexandru Băluţă. A quarter of an hour later, Olaru was replaced by Daniel Popa, leaving the pitch amid cheers from the entire stadium.

    Darius Olaru was born on 3rd March 1990 in Mediaş, in the centre. He began his career playing as a junior for the local side Gaz Metan, where he also made his official debut at 17, in the second tier, against UTA Arad, which they won 2-1. A year later, he played in the first league with Gaz Metan, which had in the meantime advanced to the first tier league. On 23rd May 2017, Olaru scored his first goal in the First League, from penalty, in a match his side won 3-nil against Concordia Chiajna. In 2020, he joined FCSB. On 27th August, he made his debut in European competitions, scoring a goal against the Armenian side Shirak, in the first Europa League qualifying round. He played his first match for the national side on 2nd June 2021 in a friendly match the team lost to Georgia 1-2. Olaru has 22 caps for Romania, two this autumn in the Nations League. He got on the pitch in the second half, both in the match won 3-nil against Kosovo and in the match won 3-1 against Lithuania.

  • Sports Update

    Sports Update

    In the US Open qualifiers, Elena Gabriela Ruse has entered the third round. In the second round, on Wednesday, she defeated the Chinese Ye-Xin Ma 6-3, 6-3, after an hour and ten minutes of play. The other Romanian player who reached the second round of the qualifications, Irina Bara, was defeated by the Australian Arina Rodionova 6-4, 6-4. The game was balanced and lasted one hour and 27 minutes. At the US Open, Jaqueline Cristian and Ana Bogdan go directly to the main draw. The latter is still in Cleveland, in the state of Ohio, where a WTA 250 tournament with prizes worth 267 thousand dollars is under way, and where the Romanian qualified for the quarterfinals. On Wednesday, in the round of 16, Ana defeated Greet Minnen, from Belgium, 7-6, 6-3.

     

    Now news from rowing. At the end of this week, the Romanian canoeists Cătălin Chirilă, Ilie Sprîncean and Oleg Nuţă will perform in the 2024 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships for non-olympic events, hosted by Uzbekistan, in Samarkand. Chirilă will participate in the 200 and 500 meters singles, whose finals will take place on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Sprîncean and Nuță will compete in the 1000-meter doubles event, with the final taking place on Saturday. The three also represented Romania at the Olympic Games in Paris. Cătălin Chirilă ranked 9th in the men’s canoe single on the distance of 1000 meters, and the Sprîncean / Nuţă pair also ranked 9th in the canoe double on the distance of 500 meters.

     

    Marius Şumudică is the new coach of the Rapid Bucharest football team. The team terminated the contract of Neil Lennon of Northern Ireland, after six stages of the new season, in which the Giulești-based team did not obtain a single victory. Şumudica, a 53-year-old technician, played for Rapid between 1997 and 1999, then in the 2001-2002 season. He won, in the cherry-red and white shirt of Rapid club, the championship of the first Romanian league in 1999 and the Romanian Cup in 1998 and 2002. As a coach, in the 2010-2011 season, he led the Giulești team for 29 stages. He also coached Astra Giurgiu, with whom he won the champion trophy, as well as Farul Constanţa, FC Braşov, FC Vaslui, Universitatea Cluj and CFR Cluj. Among the foreign teams he coached are the Saudi groups Al Shabab and Al Raed, as well as the Turkish teams Kayserispor, Rizespor, Malatyaspor and Gaziantep. (LS)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The main event of this past week, for Romanian sports’ fans, was the completion of the Olympic balance sheet of the delegation that represented Romania at the Paris Olympic Games. The gymnast Ana Maria Bărbosu received, on Friday, during a ceremony held in Bucharest, the Olympic bronze medal in the floor event, which was awarded to her following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We remind you that, on August 5, in the Olympic floor final, Ana Bărbosu was, for a few minutes, a bronze medalist, but the American gymnast Jordan Chiles filed an appeal and her mark was increased, thus finishing on third position. The decision of the Lausanne Court annulled the appeal of the American athlete, so Bărbosu thus wins the first Olympic medal of Romanian gymnastics in the last 12 years. Romania had not been on the Olympic podium in artistic gymnastics since 2012, in London, when Sandra Izbaşa won gold in the vault event, Cătălina Ponor won silver in the floor event, and the Romanian women’s team got bronze in the competition of nations.

     

    We pass on to cycling.

    The cycling tour of Romania, which ended on Sunday, was won by the Kazakh road cyclist Ilhan Dostiev, from the Astana Qazaqstan Development Team. He was followed in the final classification of the race by the Italian Davide Toneatti, also from Astana, by the Slovakian Lukas Kubis, from the Elkov – Kasper team, and by Cristian Răileanu, a member of the Romanian national team. Dostiev is the third representative of Kazakhstan to win the race, after Sergei Tretiakov, in 1999, and Vadim Kravchenko, in 2000.

     

    We end with football.

    At the weekend, games were played counting for the sixth stage of the Romanian Superleague football championship. On Friday, Petrolul Ploiesti defeated Unirea Slobozia 2-1 in Clinceni, then, in Craiova, Universitatea won against Gloria Buzău 5-1. On Saturday, FC Botoşani won with the score 1-0 the game played at home against UTA Arad, and Poli Iasi prevailed, also with the score 1-0, in the match played in Bucharest against FCSB. The Bucharest derby of the stage, which took place on Sunday between Rapid and Dinamo, ended in a draw, 1 all.  Monday will see two more games: Universitatea Cluj  takes on Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Farul Constanţa, Hermannstadt. The match between Oţelul Galati and CFR Cluj has been postponed. Craiova leads the ranking with 14 points. Oţelul comes next, with 11, but with a game in hand. (LS)

  • Public funds for sports

    Public funds for sports

    To support Romanian sport and expand the selection pool, the government has adopted a bill amending the sports law to allow the state budget to also provide funding for private clubs. The money would only have to be used for children and juniors, and the private clubs in question must be certified by the state institutions in order to be able to access the funds. Moreover, the authorities said investments would be made in sports facilities in Bucharest and the surroundings, and works would continue on 380 other facilities, especially gyms and swimming pools from around the country. According to prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, in the last two years, the Romanian state finalised 200 gyms, 50 sports facilities and 16 swimming pools.

    The prize fund was also supplemented for the athletes winning medals at the Paris Games. In this context, the prime minister said the gymnasts Sabrina Voinea and Ana Maria Bărbosu, who appealed the scores they got, saying they were clearly disadvantaged by the judges, will also be rewarded by the state. “Both of them fully deserve it”, said Ciolacu. The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee said athletes would receive 140,000 euros for winning a gold medal, 100,000 euros for silver and 60,000 euros for bronze.

    Swimmer David Popovici, who won the gold in 200 m freestyle, said recently that he wished the medals he got in Paris would help bring in more investments in this field. For an educated and healthy Romania we need to invest more in sports, he said after winning a gold and a bronze in Paris.

    Emil Boc, the mayor of Cluj Napoca, in the north-west, said the county’s Olympic swimming pool, whose construction began in spring, will be named after Popovici. The pool, which is for everyone, is to be finalised by the end of next year and will be used to host national and international competitions. The mayor of Bucharest Nicușor Dan also said the Bucharest city hall should receive more money to be able to get involved in developing the sports infrastructure. The president of the Romanian Rowing and Modern Pentathlon Federation Camelia Potec said she was confident that a generation of swimmers could be created around David Popovici that would continue to bring in medals for Romania.

    The president of the National Agency for Sport Elisabeta Lipă said Romania already won more medals in Paris than in the previous edition in Tokyo. “I hope that Romania ends the Games well, because Romanian sport is not dead. Romanian sport has been revived, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t need help”, she added.

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    Romania’s men’s national rugby team began their North American tour with a win. They defeated the United States in Chicago 22-20 to win the Pershing Cup, a trophy awarded to the winner of the direct matches between the two sides. In their second match on the North American continent, Romania will play Canada in Ottawa at the weekend.

    The Romanian men’s water polo team ended their international friendly tournament in Belgrade with a win. They defeated Germany 16-12 on Sunday in their final test match ahead of the Paris Olympic Games. Romania also won against France and Germany, but lost to Serbia, Montenegro and Australia. The players will meet on Wednesday at the Olympic centre in Izvorani, near Bucharest, to continue their training, before leaving for Paris on 21st July.

    The Romanian delegation ranked 4th in a team ranking at the European Junior Swimming Championships that came to an end on Sunday in Vilnius, Lithuania. Romania won a total of 7 medals, namely four gold, two silver and one bronze. Robert-Andrei Badea won the men’s 200 m and 400 m individual medley finals, Vlad-Ştefan Mihalache won the men’s 200 m butterfly final, while Daria-Măriuca Silişteanu won the women’s 100 m backstroke final. The silver medals went to Rebecca-Aimée Diaconescu in the women’s 200 m freestyle final and to Aissia-Claudia Prisecariu in the women’s 200 m backstroke final.

    Romanian football teams are this week playing a number of European international matches. On Tuesday, FCSB are playing Virtus of San Marino away, but they cannot count on two important players, Vlad Chiricheș and Marius Ștefănescu, who are suspended. The former was eliminated in the previous match against the Danish side Nordsjælland, which FCSB lost 2-nil, in the Conference League third qualifying round; while Ștefănescu, who has just joined the team, was eliminated in a match for his former side Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe against the Norwegian side Bodo Glimt in the Conference Leage play-offs, and which Sepsi lost 3-2.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    The domestic football season has begun with the Romanian Supercup final. Romanian champions FCSB defeated trophy holders, the second tier side Corvinul Hunedoara, 3-nil in a match held in Bucharest. The two sides will next week play in the European competitions, both away. In the Champions League qualifiers, FCSB will face Virtus in San Marino, while Corvinus will play the Hungarian side Paks in a Europa League qualifying match.

    Rowing couple Ionela and Marius Cozmiuc will be Romania’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on 26th July, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee announced on Thursday. Together, the two have 19 medals to their names, won at important competitions. Ionela has three world titles and another three European titles and has taken part in two editions of the Olympic Games, in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2020. Marius is two-time European and world champion. He has taken part in three editions of the Games, in London in 2012, in Rio in 2016, and in Tokyo in 2020, winning a silver medal in Tokyo.

    Romania’s rugby side are on tour in North America, playing two test matches: first against the United States in Chicago, on what is Saturday morning in Romania, and then against Canada in Ottawa, on 12th July.

    Romania’s men’s water polo side are doing their final training ahead of the Paris Olympic Games. In Belgrade, which is playing host to an international friendly tournament, Romania lost to Serbia 13-7, before taking on Montenegro on Friday. They will also play France and Australia on Saturday and Germany on Sunday.

    The Sibiu Cycling Tour, one of the most important road cycling competitions in eastern Europe, is taking place from Saturday till Tuesday. Participants will cycle 673 km over the course of five stages, with two finishing with a climb and one consisting of a short time trial. 25 teams are taking part, from Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Mexico, as well as better-known teams from Europe.

  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    The European Athletics Championships came to an end on Wednesday in Rome. On the last day of the competition, the Romanian athlete Alina Rotaru-Kottmann ranked 9th in the long jump finals. Her best jump was 6 m and 68 cm. The gold medal was won by the defending Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo from Germany, with 7 m and 22 cm, the best result of the season. In Rome, Joan Chelimo Melly from Romania won a silver medal in the half-marathon. The Romanian delegation comprised 24 athletes, 15 of whom competed in women’s races and 8 in men’s races.

    The European Aquatics Championships are under way in Belgrade until Sunday, 23rd June. Romania is represented by seven swimmers and four divers. The main favourite is David Popovici, who will compete in the 100 and 200 m freestyle races, where he is defending European champion. He will also be part of the 4X100 m freestyle relay. The competition in Belgrade is the last chance for Romanian athletes to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.

    The European Championships in canoe sprint, paracanoe and stand-up paddling got under way in Szeged, in Hungary, on Wednesday. The competition is a good test for athletes ahead of the Olympic Games. Three Romanian athletes who have already qualified for Paris are taking part: Cătălin Chirilă in canoe single 1000 m and Oleg Nuţă  and Ilie Sprincean in canoe double 500 m. In Szeged, Chirilă will compete in the 500 m, 1000 m and 5000 m races, and Nuţă and Sprincean will compete in the 200 m, 500 m and 1000 m races. At the 2023 European Championships held in Poland, Chirilă won the silver medal in the men’s canoe single 500 m.

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    At the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, held last week in Budapest, Romania dominated the junior competitions. The Romanian athletes won four gold medals, three of which in the apparatuses finals, through Amalia Lică, in the hoop, clubs and ribbon, and another one in the team competition, in which Amalia Lică and Lisa Garac competed. In the senior category, Annaliese Drăgan, the only Romanian representative at the rhythmic gymnastics competition at the Olympic Games in Paris, ranked 21st in the final of the individual all-around competition.

     

    The Dinamo Bucharest men’s handball team took fourth place at the final tournament of the EHF European League, held over the weekend in Hamburg. On Saturday, the Romanian champions were defeated by the German team Flensburg, score 38 to 32. On Sunday, in the third place match, the Dinamo handball team lost with the score 31 to 32 to another German team, Rhein-Neckar Löwen. The final was won by Flensburg, who defeated Fuchse Berlin 36 to 31.

     

    In the Golden League European women’s volleyball competition, held on Sunday, in Blaj, the Romanian national team defeated the Swedish team with the score 3-0. After the first pairs of matches, the Romanians have three victories and a defeat. The last matches in the preliminary phase of the competition will take place on Saturday, against Croatia, and on Sunday, against Spain, both in Gijon. The top four teams will qualify for the Final Four tournament, which will take place on June 15 and 16, in Ostrava. In men’s volleyball, also on Sunday, but in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania was defeated 3-2 by Portugal. It was the third consecutive defeat of the Romanian volleyball players in the current edition of the Golden League.

     

    On Sunday, the list of teams that will represent Romania in the European football competitions, 2024-2025 edition, was completed. In the play-off for the last Romanian place in the Europa Conference League preliminaries, Universitatea Craiova defeated Universitatea Cluj, score 5 to 4. After the regular time, the score was equal, 0-0. After the extra time the score was still level 1-1. So, after the penalty shootout, Craiova scored 4 times, and Cluj, only 3 times. CFR Cluj, the team ranked 2nd in the final ranking of the Romanian Superleague, is still in the Conference League preliminaries. FCSB, Romania’s champion, goes into the Champions League qualifiers. Corvinul Hunedoara, the second league team that won Romania’s Cup, will play in the Europa League preliminaries. (LS)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    On Saturday the Romanian athlete Bianca Ghelber qualified for the upcoming Olympic Games this summer in Paris. The Romanian managed to clear the Olympic qualification threshold in the hammer throw event during a contest held in Nairobi, Kenya. Her third throw measured 74 meters and 6 centimeters, 6 centimeters more than that required by the World Athletics. Ghelber ended the contest on the second position after Janee’ Kassanavoid of the United States who threw 75 meters and 99 centimeters. For Bianca Ghelber, this would be the fourth participation in the Olympic Games, after the editions in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020. 79 Rormanian athletes have so far qualified for the Olympics in Paris.

     

    David Popovici and Vlad Stancu obtined the best results in the National Swimming Championships held these days in Otopeni, close to Bucharest. Popovici compelled recognition in the 50, 100, 200 and 400 meter free-style races, while Stancu, in the 800 and 1500 meters. The two athletes are already qualified for the Olympic Games.

     

    In Brăila, eastern Romania, CSM Bucharest has for the third time in a row clinched Romania’s Cup in women’s handball. In the finals, the Romanian champions have outperformed Dunarea Braila 32 – 27. Danish Trine Østergaard scored most of the goals for the Romanian side, 9 while the CSM’s goalie French Laura Glauser, managed no less than 18 savings. In the other game of the finals, Gloria Bistriţa defeated Rapid Bucharest 39-36 in the injury time.

     

    The Hungarian tennis player Márton Fucsovics has won the sigles of the ATP 250 Ţiriac Open tournament with 579 thousand euros in prize money. In the finals held on Sunday, he secured a two-set win, 6-4, 7-5, against the Argentine challenger Mariano Navone.

     

    Last weekend saw the matches of the fifth leg of the Romanian football Superleague. On Friday, Farul Constanţa clinched a 5-1 home win against CFR Cluj. In a real derby in Bucharest, local sides FCSB and Rapid ended in a two-all draw their match while in Sfantu Gheroghe, central Romania, Universitatea Craiova secured a 3-1 win against local side Sepsi OSK. FCSB tops the table, 11 points ahead of the team coming second, Universitatea Craiova.

     

    In the other matches of the league, in Sibiu, local side Hermannstadt and FC Botoşani ended in a one-all draw their match on Friday, while on Saturday, Poli Iasi secured a 3-1 home win against FC Voluntari. FCU Craiova versus Dinamo Bucureşti ended in a draw, one-all. On Sunday, Oţelul Galaţi defeated Universitatea Cluj 1-0 while the leg’s last match pitches Petrolul Ploieşti and UTA Arad on Monday.

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    Today we look at the first modern edition of the Olympic Games held Athens 124 years ago, more precisely in April 1896. The opening ceremony took place on Sunday April 5, when both the Catholic and Orthodox Christians were celebrating Easter. The number of spectators attending the ceremony was estimated at 80 thousand.

     

     

    Competitions started on April 6 on the Olympic Stadium which was built from scratch by the Greek authorities on the location of an ancient arena. 241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the Olympic Games. This was the largest international participation in a sports event up to that moment.

     

     

    In the spirit of the ancient Greek Olympic tradition and especially at the insistence of the French baron Pierre de Coubertin, the participation of women in the Olympic Games was forbidden. It was only in Paris, in 1900, that women were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.

     

     

    The first sports event held at the Athens Olympics was the 100 meters race and the first Olympic medalist was the American Francis Lane who ended the race in 12.20 seconds. Besides athletics, the Olympic Games in Athens also included cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

     

     

    The marathon race took place on April 10 on the same route, which the Athenian soldier Philippides had covered more than 2,300 years before, to deliver news of the victory of the battle of Marathon over Persia. The winner of the marathon race was the Greek athlete Spiros Louis who thus became a national hero.

     

     

    The competition ended on April 15. The first place in the nations’ ranking was held by the US with 11 gold medals out of a total of 20 medals won at the Olympic Games. Greece obtained 46 medals, of which 10 gold. (translation by L. Simion)