Athlete of the Week on RRI – Athlete Alina Rotaru-Kottmann

Alina won bronze in the long jump event

Florin Orban, 22.08.2023, 13:45

Budapest is hosting the World
Athletics Championships until August 29. Representing Romania are 16 athletes,
nine women and 7 men, with the goal of qualifying to at least three finals. Winning
medals was not one of the objectives set by the Romanian Athletics Federation,
so we can argue that the bronze medal won last Sunday in the long jump event by
Alina Rotaru-Kottmann came as a surprise. It was also a career best for our
athlete and the best performance for Romania in recent days, which is why we
have designated Alina Rotaru-Kottmann Athlete of the Week on RRI.

Alina Rotaru-Kottmann competed in
Budapest after already having qualified to the Paris Olympics due next year. In
late July, at the Inneringer Weitsprung Meeting hosted by Germany, Alina jumped
6.96 meters, winning gold and setting a new personal record. At the World
Championships in Budapest, Alina jumped 6.88 meters. The gold went to Ivana
Vuleta of Serbia, with 7.14 meters, a season best, while the silver medal went
to Tara Davis-Woodhall of the USA with 6.91 meters.

Alina Rotaru-Kottmann was born June
5, 1993 in Bucharest. She enrolled at Dinamo Bucharest sports club when she was
6. At the 2009 World Under-19 Championships in Italy, she came in second in the
long jump event and fourth in the high jump event. Over the years she steadily
improved her performances. In 2015, she qualified to the 2016 Rio Olympics with
a jump measuring 6.72 meters. In Rio, she ranked 18. She also took part in the Tokyo
Olympics, where she ranked 17 in the final standings. She is one of the
favorites in the long jump event at the Paris Olympics of 2024. (VP)