Radio România Internațional

Tag: swimming

Sports roundup

The World Gymnastics Championship have recently
drawn to a close in Belgium’s Antwerp. In the last day of the competition on Sunday, Sabrina Maneca Voinea came in 4th in
the floor final. Also, at the recently-held edition of the World Cup, gymnast Andrei Muntean and Romania’s national women
team secured their ticket for the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris.

This past Sunday, Romania’s national rugby team played their last
fixture as part of the World Cup in France. In Lille, the Romanians sustained a
24-45 defeat by Tonga. It was the Romanian team’s best performance at the
recently-held edition of the World Cup. However, it was not enough to
outperform Tonga. Romania managed to score three tries, through Cristi Boboc, Florin Surugiu and Marius
Simionescu, all three converted by Alin Conache, who also scored from a penalty
kick. Also, it was the farewell game for two leading Romania rugby players in
the last decade, Florin Surugiu and Andrei Gorcioaia. In France, Romania was the bottom-of-the-table
team in Group B, with no points on their record sheet. In the first three
fixtures, head coach Eugen Apjok’s trainees were trounced by Ireland, South Africa
and Scotland.

At the international swimming competition in Switzerland’s Nyon, the Romanian
swimmer David Popovici won all short-course events he competed in. On Saturday,
Popovici won the 400m and 200m freestyle events, while on Sunday, the Romanian
yet again won the 100m and 50m freestyle events, David’s participation in the Switzerland
contest was part of the preparation stage ahead of the European Short Course
Swimming Championships, to held in Romania’s Otopeni in December.

Matches counting for the Romanian Football Super League’s 12th
round were held at the weekend. On the former team’s turf on Friday, FC U
Craiova 1948 and Hermannstadt drew, 1-all, then in Bucharest, Rapid defeated Politehnica
Iaşi, 3-2. Three games were played on Saturday. In Ploiesti, guest team UTA Arad held the local side Petrolul to a blank draw. FC Voluntari’s home game against Universitatea
Craiova also ended in a blank draw. Also on Saturday, FCSB won their away game
against FC Botosani, 1-nil. On Sunday in Galati, the local team Otelul sustained
a nil-1 defeat by Farul Constanta, while in Bucharest, Dinamo and CFR Cluj drew,
1-all. FCSB are at the top of the table, with 29 points. CFR Cluj are the
runner-up team, with 26. Rapid and Universitatea Craiova are 3rd and 4th-placed,
respectively, with 22 points each.

9 October 2023
Happening in Romania

This week in Happening in Romania:

A Romanian librarian, the first man to swim across the Danube River, has crossed the Rhine in a gesture meant to support Romanias Schengen accession;

Romania participates in the Invictus 2023 Games in Dusseldorf;

Romania won three silver medals and one bronze at the International Informatics Olympiad in Szeged, Hungary;

A poetry anthology including 28 poets from Bihor and Bessarabia was offered by the Pro Lirica Oradea cultural association on the occasion of the Romanian Language Day.

RadioRomaniaInternational · Happening In Romania 06.09.2023

6 September 2023
Radio Romania International Sports club

The Slovenian city of Maribor for a week running
was the capital of athletes from all over Europe. The European Youth Olympic
Festival brought together Europe’s hopefuls in a great number of sports disciplines,
ranging from athletics to swimming, from handball to judo. To Slovenia, Romania
sent a 92-strong delegation of athletes who competed in 9 sports disciplines.
The Romanian delegation’s final record was made of 20 medals, so Romania came
in 4th according to the nations’ competition. Of the gold medals,
five were won by swimmers. Robert Badea won the 200m and 400m mixed events, Aissia
Prisăcariu won the 200m backstroke event, while Daria Silişteanu won gold in
the 100m backstroke. Added to that
was the women’s relay team that won the 4 by 100m freestyle, In judo, Tudor Mosoiu won in the 60-kilogram
category, while David Gliga walked home with gold in the 73-kilogram category. In
athletics, gold went to women’s mixed relay team (100+200+300+400 meters) and
to Alin Şavlovschi, in the 2, 000m steeplechase.

14-year-old swimmer Daria Silişteanu is a national record holder in the 50m backstroke event. In
Maribor, Daria won the gold medal twice. Here is what Daria told upon her
return to Romania, sounding upbeat about the Romanian delegation’s results in Maribor.

Us, swimmers, walked away with quite a few medals. In
athletics but also in handball quite a few medals were won as well. I am happy
with the result, especially in the 100m backstroke. I really wasn’t expecting
that, I listened to my coach, he said I can have a more powerful start, I took
my chance, he said I can finish the race quite fine and I swam as powerfully as
I could.

Six silver medals were also won in Maribor. In tennis, Giulia Popa won,
in the women’s singles, also securing a win in the women’s doubles, alongside Alexia
Tatu. In men’s doubles, Yannick Alexandrescu and Alejandro Nourescu walked away
with silver. In the 400m hurdles, Ştefania Uţă won silver as well. In gymnastics, silver went to Alexia
Vănoagă in the beam event. Also silver went to women’s national handball team. The
bronze medals went to swimmers Darius Coman, in the 100m 200m breaststroke and to
Andrei Proca in the 1, 500m freestyle event. Athletes Alexandra Hudea in the 3,000m race and Cristian Popescu, in the
long-jump event, also walked away with bronze.

2 August 2023
Sports weekend

The World Swimming Championships drew to a close in Japan’s Fukukoa this
past Sunday. The Romanian delegation walked home with two medals, both won in
the competition’s high-diving events. Constantin
Popovici won gold, while Cătălin Preda, silver. All hopes were pinned on the
holder of the 200m freestyle European record as well as the 100m freestyle
world record holder, David Popovici. This time around, the Romanian failed to
step onto a step of the podium.

The World Fencing
Championships drew to a close in Milan, Italy. Romania sent a 15-strong delegation,
with 12 twelve fencers competing in the men’s events and 5 in the women’s events.
The delegation walked away with no medal. Best-placed was Mălina Călugăreanu, in the foil event, who came in 8th.
Apart from medals, the competition offered important points required for the qualification
to the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris.

As part of the Summer
Sports European Youth Olympic Festival that has been recently held in Slovenia’s
Maribor, Romania came in 4th in the nations’ competition in terms of
medals. The Romanian athletes won 9 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals. Five of the gold medals were provided by swimmers.
Robert Badea won the mixed 200 and 400m events, Aissia Prisăcariu won the 200m backstroke
event, while Daria Silişteanu won the 100m backstroke event. Added to that was
the gold medal won by the 4 by 100m women’s relay team. In judo, Tudor Moşoi won in the 60-kilogram category, while David Gliga won in the 73-kilogram category. Also
gold went to the mixed women’s relay team, in the 100, 200 300 and 400m races. A
gold medal winner was Alin Şavlovschi in the 2,000m steeplechase event.

The European Junior and U23 Weightlifting Championships will be held in Bucharest until
this coming Thursday. In the first week of the competition, the Romanian
weightlifters won 14 gold medals, of which 8 in the juniors category and 6 in
the U23 category of the competition.

In news from
football, this past weekend saw matches being played, counting towards the Romanian
Super League’s third round. On Friday, U Cluj grabbed a 4-3 away win against FC
U Craiova 1948, while in Bucharest, Rapid drew FC Botoşani, 2-all. In Sibiu on Saturday,
FC Hermannstadt defeated UTA Arad, 2-1, while in Galati FCSB defeated the local
side Oţelul, 2-nil. In Ovidiu on Sunday, the newly-promoted team Poli Iasi
succeeded a 3-1 away win against holders Farul Constanta, while in Cluj, CFR drew against Universitatea Craiova, 1-all. With 9 points, FCSB are at the top of the table, while CFR,
are second-placed, with 7.

31 July 2023
July 27, 2023

WILDFIRES
Forty Romanian fire fighters are
relocated today from Attica region on Greece’s Rhodes Island, heavily affected
by uncontrolled wildfires, the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergencies
announced. They travel by sea together with 3 fire engines and a 10-ton fire
truck, as well as a personnel transport vehicle. According to the Romanian Foreign
Ministry, high fire risks continue to be reported today in several parts of
Greece, while the weather is expected to change radically, with strong storms
forecast especially in Thrace, Macedonia, Khalkidhiki and the north-eastern
Aegean coast. Romanian citizens who plan on traveling to Greece in this period
are advised to get fully informed of the situation ahead of leaving, and those
who are already in the affected areas are urged to comply with the instructions
issued by local authorities and follow official sources of information.

NATURAL GAS Romanians will have safe access to natural gas, even in
the case of lower temperatures than usual in the winter season, as Azerbaijan guaranteed
Romania access to a capacity of up to 1 billion cubic metres of natural gas if
necessary. The statement was made by the energy minister, Sebastian Burduja, who
had a meeting in Bucharest with his counterpart E.S. Parviz Shahbazov. The
filling level for Romanian storage facilities is over 75.5%, significantly over
the level promised by Romania to the EU, and nearly 700 million cubic metres
more than we had at the same time in 2022, the minister said in a social media
post on Thursday. He added that he discussed with the energy minister of Azerbaijan about ways
to develop the strategic partnership, bilateral investments and joint projects in the energy sector, including a green corridor to connect the Caspian Sea to
the Black Sea. The cooperation between Romania and Azerbaijan in the energy
sector entails major benefits not only for the two countries, but for the
security of Europe as a whole, Sebastian Burduja pointed out.

UKRAINE The Russian army hit the port
infrastructure in the region of Odessa (southern Ukraine) in an overnight
missile attack that killed a security guard and damaged a cargo terminal, the
local authorities announced on Thursday morning. The ports in the Odessa region,
at the Black Sea or the Danube River, have turned into the preferred targets of
the Russian army, after Moscow recently terminated a deal allowing Ukraine to
export grains to international markets.

MOLDOVA The Russian
Federation will have to downsize its Chişinău Embassy personnel, according to a
decision made by the Moldovan authorities and already communicated to Russia’s
ambassador in that country. Russia will keep 10 diplomats and 15 technical and
support personnel, on a par with the number of staff of the Moldovan embassy in
Moscow. According to Moldova’s foreign minister Nicu Popescu, Moldova has been
for decades the target of hostile policies and activities on the part of the
Russian Federation, and many of the Russian embassy’s activities were aimed to
destabilize the country. In Moscow, the foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria
Zaharova, said the decision was ungrounded and a further step taken by Chişinău
towards deteriorating bilateral relations.

WEATHER The weather cools
significantly in Romania, where after a heat wave with temperatures above 40
degrees Celsius, the highs are expected to range only between 19 and 28
degrees, with some 25 degrees reported in Bucharest at noon. Thunderstorms
made victims the previous day, with a 64 year old woman dead as a tree uprooted
by the wind fell over her car on the Transalpina
road in Alba County, and two siblings in Botoşani County struck by lightning on
a field. In Harghita County railroad transport was disrupted after several
trees fell on the tracks, several localities in Iaşi County were left without
drinking water and the Black Sea port of Constanţa was closed because of the
strong wind.

SPORTS
The athletes Constantin Popovici and Cătălin Petru Preda won the first medals
for the Romanian team at the 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka
(Japan). Today they ranked first and second in the high diving competition.
Popovici, 34, is Romania’s first world high diving champion. Twenty-three
athletes took part in this event. (AMP)

27 July 2023
July 26, 2023 UPDATE

HEAT Wednesday was a new day with extreme heat in Romania. The capital
city Bucharest and several counties in the south and south-east were subject to
a code red alert for temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and a
temperature-humidity index above the critical 80 units. Code orange and yellow
alerts were also in place elsewhere in the country. On Tuesday the extreme
temperatures disrupted railway traffic and caused road traffic restrictions. On
the other hand, violent storms were reported in the west, north and centre of
the country, where substantial damages were reported. On
Thursday, the temperature is expected to drop significantly, to highs between
19 and 28 degrees Celsius.

PROTEST Romanian construction workers Wednesday picketed the government
headquarters to protest the Cabinet’s decision to scrap the tax facilities
granted to the employees in this sector. The head of the National Trade Union
Bloc (BNS), Dumitru Costin, said the proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code
affect not only the construction sector, but other categories of employees as
well. The BNS and the Familia General Federation of Trade Unions came up with a
set of measures to avoid the scrapping of tax facilities as of September 1,
including a new collective bargaining agreement for the sector and a gradual
elimination of the fiscal facility, in keeping with the roadmap agreed on under
the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as of 2025. They also suggest adjustments
to budget appropriations for the investment projects funded by the government
or from EU funds, as well as a salary policy for this sector for the
forthcoming years able to ensure balanced salaries, especially in the private
sector.

MEETING The Romanian
foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Wednesday had talks with her French
counterpart, Catherine Colonna, about the security situation at the Black Sea.
In a Twitter post, Odobescu described the dialogue as very good. Bilateral
cooperation was reconfirmed on this occasion. We have emphasised our joint
support for Ukraine and the R. of Moldova, as well as our determination to
consolidate security and resilience at the Black Sea, the Romanian diplomacy
chief said in her post.

DIPLOMACY The foreign
minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, Wednesday requested a
limitation on the number of Russian diplomats accredited to Chişinău. He said
the country has been for several years the target of hostile policies on
Russia’s part, and that some of them were completed via the Russian Embassy
there. Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry
for explanations, after a media report revealed that the Russian diplomatic
mission had installed high-performance espionage and interception equipment on
its rooftop. The media in Chişinău mentioned 28 satellite dishes and telecoms
devices, while individuals tied to Russian intelligence services were seen on
the buildings. The authorities in Chisinau decided that the two countries’
embassies would have equal numbers of diplomatic personnel, specifically 10 diplomatic
positions and 15 administrative, technical and support posts, Moldpres reports.
Consequently, the staff of Russia’s embassy in Chişinău will be reduced from 84
to 25.

NATO The NATO
secretary general Jens Stoltenberg convened a first NATO – Ukraine Council
meeting at ambassador level on Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv. The meeting
focused on consultations on recent developments, with participants discussing
the transport of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, the NATO spokesperson Oana
Lungescu said. Ukraine’s request came after Russia terminated the so-called
grains deal and started attacking the Ukrainian port infrastructure. Also on
Wednesday, the head of the press office for the southern Ukrainian defence
command, Natalia Humeniuk, said Russia was already using Shahed-type drones
assembled in Russia.

SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici Wednesday qualified into
the final of the 100m freestyle race at the World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan). Popovici, the defending world champion in
this event, also holds the world record, set last year at the European
Championships in Rome. The 100m freestyle final is scheduled for Thursday. On
Tuesday, Popovici, also a former world champion in the 200m freestyle event,
finished the competition’s final on the 4th place. (AMP)

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
Sports flash

The World Swimming Championships are underway in Fukukoa, Japan. The Romanian swimmers who have competed so far have succeeded lacklustre results. All hopes are pinned on diver Constantin Popovici and on David Popovici, who competes in the freestyle event. Constantin Popovici is the European high-diving champion. He competes on Friday, jumping off the 10-meter platform, while the high-diving event is scheduled next week. The defending 100m and 200m freestyle world champion David Popovici competes next week as well.

The World U-23 Rowing Championships are underway in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The Romanian womens quadruple sculls crew was the first Romanian crew to have advanced to the finals. The crew was made of Emanuela-Ioana Ciotău, Alexandra Ungureanu, Cristina Drugă and Patricia Cireş. At the 2022 edition of the World Youth Championships held in Varese, Italy, Romania walked away with three medals: gold in the womens double scull, silver in the womens quadruple sculls and bronze in mens pair events.

In news from womens volleyball, Romanian title holders Romanian title holders Alba Blaj will play in the Champions Leagues 2nd preliminary round, according to the drawing of lots carried in Luxembourg this past Wednesday. Volei Alba Blaj go against Kralovo Pole Brno, of the Czech Republic, Gran Canaria of Spain and Hapoel Kfar Saba of Israel. The fixtures are scheduled in October. The first two teams in descending order advance to the second preliminary round, to be held as a tournament.

In the Champions Leagues first preliminary round, Romanian mens volleyball champion team, Arcada Galaţi, has been included in a three-team group, alongside Croatias Mladost Zagreb and Guaguas Las Palmas of Spain. The first two teams in descending order advance to the second qualifying round.

The World Fencing Championships kick-start in Milan at the weekend. Apart from medals, the competition offers important points for the qualification to the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games in Paris. Romania has entered a 15-strong delegation for the coopetition, of which 12 girls and 5 boys. In the womens version of the championships Romania will have three complete teams for all three events, while in the mens version, Romania will only have a complete team in the sabre event.

20 July 2023
Athlete of the week

In the speed races, athletics or swimming,
records, more often than not, cannot be broken for dozens of years. In 2022,
Romanian swimmer David Popovici provided a stunning surprise breaking the 100m
freestyle world record set in 2009. However, there are national records that
lasted even longer, all the more so as, back in the day, they were set by top-flight
champions.

The most accomplished
Romanian swimmer, Diana Mocanu, in Pitesti, in 2002, set the national 50m
backstroke record. Diana clocked 28 seconds and 73 hundredths of a second. We recall
Diana Mocanu was a two-time Olympic champion in Sydney, in 2000, in the 100m
and 200m backstroke events. 21 years on, that is in last week’s European Juniors’
Swimming Championships in Belgrade, 14-year-old Daria Silisteanu won the first
50m backstroke semifinal, clocking 28 seconds and 59 hundredths of a second. Daria thus improved Romania’s national seniors’
record with 14 hundredths of a second. Then in the 50m backstroke final, Daria
Silisteanu broke her recently-set record, clocking 28 seconds and 46 hundredths
of a second and winning the bronze medal. Daria’s trail in the 100m backstroke event
was, again, way above par, since Daria walked home with the silver medal.

Reason
enough for Radio Romania
International to designate Daria Silisteanu the Athlete of the Week.

Daria Silişteanu was born in Fălticeni, eastern Romania. She is signed
up by Dinamo Bucharest Sports club. Daria’s coaches are Luis Lăcătuș and Adrian
Pinticanu. She compelled recognition in April 2023, when she won as many as 12
medals, at the National Swimming Championships in Otopeni. Among other things,
Daria won three national titles in the seniors, U-21 and Juniors’ categories,
in the 50m backstroke, 50m butterfly and 100m backstroke events.

11 July 2023
Sports flash

14-year-old
Romanian swimmer Daria Silisteanu has succeeded a recent national seniors’
record in the 50m backstroke event. As part of the European Juniors’ swimming Championships
in Belgrade on Tuesday, Daria Silisteanu clocked 28 and seconds 59 hundredths
of a second, that is 14 hundredths of a second better than the old record set
by two-time Olympic champion Diana Mocanu in 2002. On Wednesday, in the 50m
backstroke event final, Daria improved the record, clocking 28 seconds and 46 hundredths
of a second, thus winning the bronze medal.

In news from tennis, in Wimbledon, foul weather
did damage to the schedule of the year’s third Grand Slam tournament. Romania is represented only in the women’s version of the tournament’s main draw. The first Romanian tennis
players to have gone past the first round were Ana Bogdan, Sorana Cîrstea and Jaqueline Cristian. On Monday, Bogdan defeated 15th-seeded
player, Russia’s Lyudmila Samsonova, 7-6, 7-6. On Wednesday, Cristian outclassed
Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, 6-3, 6-4, while Cîrstea defeated the 2022 semifinalist,
Tatjana Maria of Germany, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

The Romanian football teams are currently finalizing
their summer training stage. In The Netherlands, in a friendly game, FCSB and PAOK
Thessalonica, a team head-coached by Razvan Lucescu, drew, 1-all. We recall
that in their first training stage this summer, FCSB sustained a 2-5 defeat by Anderlecht
Brussels.

In Austria on Wednesday, Dinamo Bucharest sustained
a 1-4 defeat by Dinamo Kyiv, a team head-coached by Mircea Lucescu. We recall that
in their previous friendly games, in Slovenia, Dinamo defeated Croat opponents Slaven
Belupo, 1-nil and lost to Hungarian team Zalaegerszeg, nil-1.

The other
Romanian team taking part in the training stage in Slovakia, Rapid Bucharest, sustained a 1-4 defeat by Slovan
Bratislava in Samorin. Previously, Rapid and Dunajska Streda drew, 1-all, then
secured a 1-nil win against Győr, thrashing FK Rača, 5-nil.

6 July 2023
Sports flash

14-year-old
Romanian swimmer Daria Silisteanu has succeeded a recent national seniors’
record in the 50m backstroke event. As part of the European Juniors’ swimming Championships
in Belgrade on Tuesday, Daria Silisteanu clocked 28 and seconds 59 hundredths
of a second, that is 14 hundredths of a seconds earlier than the old record set
by two-time Olympic champion Diana Mocanu in 2002. On Wednesday, in the 50m
backstroke event final, Daria improved the record clocking 28 seconds and 46 hundredths
of a second, thus winning the bronze medal.

In news from tennis, in Wimbledon, foul weather
did damage to the schedule of the year’s third Grand Slam tournament. Romanian
is represented only for the tournament’s main draw. The first Romanian tennis
players to have gone past the first round were Ana Bogdan, Sorana Cîrstea and Jaqueline Cristian. On Monday, Bogdan defeated 15th-seeded
player, Russia’s Lyudmila Samsonova, 7-6, 7-6. On Wednesday, Cristian outclassed
Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, 6-3, 6-4, while Cîrstea defeated the 2022 semifinalist,
Tatjana Maria of Germany, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

The Romanian football teams are currently finalizing
their summer training stage. In The Netherlands, in a friendly game, FCSB and PAOK
Thessalonica, a team head-coached by Razvan Lucescu, drew, 1-all. We recall
that in their first training stage this summer, FCSB sustained a 2-5 defeat by Anderlecht
Brussels.

In Austria on Wednesday, Dinamo Bucharest sustained
a 1-4 defeat by Dinamo Kyiv, a team head-coached by Mircea Lucescu. We recall that
in their previous friendly games, in Slovenia, Dinamo defeated Croat opponents Slaven
Belupo, 1-nil and lost to Hungarian team Zalaegerszeg, nil-1.

The other
Romanian team taking part in the training stage in Slovakia, Rapid Bucharest
sustained a 1-4 defeat by Slovan
Bratislava in Samorin. Previously, Rapid and Dunajska Streda drew, 1-all, then
secured a 1-nil win against Győr, thrashing FK Rača, 5-nil.

6 July 2023
Sports Roundup

In Poland, the European Games hosted by Crakow and Malopolska region carry on. After 5 days of competitions, Romania is placed 18th in the nations ranking. Romanian athletes have won 8 medals so far, including 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze ones. Gold medals went to cyclist Vlad Dascălu, in the mountain bike race, and to athlete Claudia Bobocea, in the womens 1,500m race. Athletes Bianca Ghelber in the hammer throw event, and Daniela Stanciu in the high jump event won silver medals, and so did Cătălin Chirilă in the mens canoe single 500m final. Taking home bronze medals were Ştefan Comănescu, in the mens kumite 67 kg, athlete Andrea Miklos in the womens 400m race, and Mălina Călugăreanu in the womens foil individual final.

This weekend the Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 100m and 200m freestyle finals of the “Sette Colli Trophy” international competition in Rome, both with new competition records. In the 200m event, he defeated the Olympic champion Tom Dean. This was the last test for Popovici ahead of the world swimming championships in Fukuoka, Japan, scheduled between 13 and 30 July.

Romanias womens water polo team won all matches in Group B of the 2024 European Championships qualifiers, held in Otopeni. The Romanians defeated Sweden 14-9, Switzerland 7-5, and Turkey 16-5, respectively, and qualified to the final tournament due in Netanya, Israel in January. Romanias mens team is also taking part in the final tournament in Israel, after finishing top of Group D in the qualifiers. In Kranj, Slovenia, the team coached by Bogdan Rath and George Deacu outplayed Switzerland 19-9 and Finland 19-6, and drew 10-all against the host nation.

At the European Under-21 Football Championship hosted jointly by Romania and Georgia, the national team takes on Croatia on Tuesday in Group B. In the first 2 group matches, Romania lost 0-3 to Spain on Wednesday, and 0-1 to Ukraine on Saturday.

Also in football, one of the most popular football clubs in Romania, Rapid Bucharest, this weekend celebrated 100 years of history. Originally a football club of railway workers, Rapid is known for outstanding performances prior to WWI. In 1940, the team qualified for the final of the Central European Cup, which was never played however. The club then grew to cover multiple sports, and achieved top level performances in several fields, including handball and volleyball. (AMP)

26 June 2023
Sports Roundup

In Poland, the European Games hosted by Crakow and Malopolska region carry on. After 5 days of competitions, Romania is placed 18th in the nations ranking. Romanian athletes have won 8 medals so far, including 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze ones. Gold medals went to cyclist Vlad Dascălu, in the mountain bike race, and to athlete Claudia Bobocea, in the womens 1,500m race. Athletes Bianca Ghelber in the hammer throw event, and Daniela Stanciu in the high jump event won silver medals, and so did Cătălin Chirilă in the mens canoe single 500m final. Taking home bronze medals were Ştefan Comănescu, in the mens kumite 67 kg, athlete Andrea Miklos in the womens 400m race, and Mălina Călugăreanu in the womens foil individual final.

This weekend the Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 100m and 200m freestyle finals of the “Sette Colli Trophy” international competition in Rome, both with new competition records. In the 200m event, he defeated the Olympic champion Tom Dean. This was the last test for Popovici ahead of the world swimming championships in Fukuoka, Japan, scheduled between 13 and 30 July.

Romanias womens water polo team won all matches in Group B of the 2024 European Championships qualifiers, held in Otopeni. The Romanians defeated Sweden 14-9, Switzerland 7-5, and Turkey 16-5, respectively, and qualified to the final tournament due in Netanya, Israel in January. Romanias mens team is also taking part in the final tournament in Israel, after finishing top of Group D in the qualifiers. In Kranj, Slovenia, the team coached by Bogdan Rath and George Deacu outplayed Switzerland 19-9 and Finland 19-6, and drew 10-all against the host nation.

At the European Under-21 Football Championship hosted jointly by Romania and Georgia, the national team takes on Croatia on Tuesday in Group B. In the first 2 group matches, Romania lost 0-3 to Spain on Wednesday, and 0-1 to Ukraine on Saturday.

Also in football, one of the most popular football clubs in Romania, Rapid Bucharest, this weekend celebrated 100 years of history. Originally a football club of railway workers, Rapid is known for outstanding performances prior to WWI. In 1940, the team qualified for the final of the Central European Cup, which was never played however. The club then grew to cover multiple sports, and achieved top level performances in several fields, including handball and volleyball. (AMP)

26 June 2023
Athlete of the week

David Popovici a couple of days ago has confirmed he was Romania’s best
swimmer. As part of the National Swimming Championships held in Otopeni nearby Bucharest,
Popovici won three of the four speed events, namely the freestyle event, the backstroke and the butterfly event. Actually, Popovici won six finals. He came in first
in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle, in the 100m backstroke
and in the 50m and 100m butterfly events. For the latter two events David Popovici
set a new national record. Also, in the 100m freestyle, an event in which he holds
the world record, Popovici met the qualification target set for the 2024
edition of the Olympic Games. Moreover,
David Popovici was a Dinamo Bucharest Sports Club team member, winning silver
in the men’s 4×100 mixed relay event. Reason enough for Radio Romania
International to designate David Popovici the Athlete of the week.

David Popovici was
born in Bucharest on September 15, 2004. He compelled recognition in juniors’ competitions. In the 2021 edition of the European Championships he won the 200m, 100m 50m
freestyle events, setting a world record in the 50m freestyle. Subsequently, Popovici
broke the world records in the 100m and 200m freestyle events. David qualified to
the Tokyo Olympics where he came in 4th in the 200m freestyle, being
two hundredths of a second away from stepping onto a step of the podium. In the
seniors’ competitions, David Popovici in Russia’s Kazan, in November, 2021 won
the European title in the 200m freestyle event. It was his first notable title
in his career.

As an absolute first
for Romanian sports, in June, 2022, David Popovici won gold in the 100m and
200m freestyle evens as part of the World Championship in Budapest. In August,
2022, at the European championship in Rome, Popovici set a new world record in
the 100m freestyle event, clocking 46 seconds and 86 hundredths of a second. He
was that close to setting a new world record in the European 200m final. David Popovici
clocked one minute, 47 seconds and 97 hundredths of a second, a new juniors’
world and European record, as well as a new record of the European Championship.

11 April 2023
Athlete of the week

David Popovici a couple of days ago has confirmed he was Romania’s best
swimmer. As part of the National Swimming Championships held in Otopeni nearby Bucharest,
Popovici won three of the four speed events, namely the freestyle event, the backstroke and the butterfly event. Actually, Popovici won six finals. He came in first
in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle, in the 100m backstroke
and in the 50m and 100m butterfly events. For the latter two events David Popovici
set a new national record. Also, in the 100m freestyle, an event in which he holds
the world record, Popovici met the qualification target set for the 2024
edition of the Olympic Games. Moreover,
David Popovici was a Dinamo Bucharest Sports Club team member, winning silver
in the men’s 4×100 mixed relay event. Reason enough for Radio Romania
International to designate David Popovici the Athlete of the week.

David Popovici was
born in Bucharest on September 15, 2004. He compelled recognition in juniors’ competitions. In the 2021 edition of the European Championships he won the 200m, 100m 50m
freestyle events, setting a world record in the 50m freestyle. Subsequently, Popovici
broke the world records in the 100m and 200m freestyle events. David qualified to
the Tokyo Olympics where he came in 4th in the 200m freestyle, being
two hundredths of a second away from stepping onto a step of the podium. In the
seniors’ competitions, David Popovici in Russia’s Kazan, in November, 2021 won
the European title in the 200m freestyle event. It was his first notable title
in his career.

As an absolute first
for Romanian sports, in June, 2022, David Popovici won gold in the 100m and
200m freestyle evens as part of the World Championship in Budapest. In August,
2022, at the European championship in Rome, Popovici set a new world record in
the 100m freestyle event, clocking 46 seconds and 86 hundredths of a second. He
was that close to setting a new world record in the European 200m final. David Popovici
clocked one minute, 47 seconds and 97 hundredths of a second, a new juniors’
world and European record, as well as a new record of the European Championship.

11 April 2023