Athlete of the week
The rower Bianca Ifteni
Florin Orban, 28.07.2026, 13:45
Rowing is one of the sports in which Romania has been in the top of world rankings for decades. At the Paris Olympics two years ago, the Romanian rowing team won five medals, two gold and three silver. In last year’s World Senior Championships in Shanghai, Romanian athletes won six medals, of which two gold and four silver. So it came as no surprise that Romanians were among the top performers at the U-23 World Rowing Championships that took place last week in Duisburg, Germany.
Romania concluded the competition with four medals (one gold, two silver and one bronze). Bianca Ifteni won the gold in the women’s single sculls. In the mixed double sculls, David Costel Chitic and Stejara Olariu won silver medals, as did the mixed 8+1 crew. The bronze medals came from Patrick Francisc Sebestyen and Eduard Angel Moldovan in the men’s double sculls event. Following these results, Radio Romania International designates Bianca Ifteni the Athlete of the Week.
In Duisburg, Bianca Ifteni waltzed into the semis, winning her heat without much effort. She went on to win the first semifinal, followed by the Irish Sophia Young 2.5 seconds later. In the final, halfway through the race, Bianca was only in fourth place, but a formidable sprint over the last 500 meters brought her ahead of all her opponents. She finisted in first place with a time of 7.33.83 minutes, followed by Ireland’s Sophia Young, this time almost five seconds away. We should also note that the world title won by Bianca is a first in the history of the Romanian rowers’ participation in this event.
Bianca-Camelia Ifteni was born on October 6, 2006 in the village of Pădureni, Vaslui County. She started rowing seven years ago, when she was scouted during a national selection campaign that also covered the school in her home village. She joined CSM Călărași, a sports club where she had her first wins in the juniors competitions. At present she also represents the Dinamo Bucharest club.
In 2023, she won the gold medal at the European U-19 Championships in France with the 4+ crew. In 2024 and 2025, she won gold medals at both the European and world junior championships in various events. Last year, at the World Championships in Shanghai, she raced in the doubles event alongside Mariana Dumitru, and came out 6th in heat B. She was included in the team that will represent Romania at the upcoming European Championships in Varese, Italy, where she will compete in the single sculls event. (AMP)
