A Preview of Romanian participation in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
The 31st edition of the Olympics is being attended by more than 10 thousand athletes from 206 countries.
Florin Orban, 05.08.2016, 13:19
Starting on Friday, August 5, for three weeks running, the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be grabbing sports lovers’ attention. The 31st edition of the Olympics is being attended by more than 10 thousand athletes from 206 countries.
As an absolute first, participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics is a team of refugees, made up of ten athletes. The most numerous delegations are those of the United States, with 554 athletes, Brazil, with 465 athletes and Germany, with 425 athletes. Representing Romania in Rio is a delegation of 96 athletes and 7 substitutes who will be competing in 15 sporting events.
According to the US publication ‘Sports Illustrated’, Romania is likely to walk away from Rio with five medals, but none gold. Under the predictions column, the Sports Illustrated columnists wrote that, in terms of medal winners, Romania’s women’s epee team is likely to walk away with silver. Romania is also likely to win another 4 bronze medals: two by gymnast Marian Dragulescu in the floor and vault events, and the other two by judoka Andreea Chitu, in the 52 kilogram category, and by Romania’s women’s handball team, respectively.
The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee’s set target for the 2016 Olympics is six up to eight medals. The target is apparently unassuming, if we take into account that the eight-medal record at the Bejing Olympics in 2008 was an all-time low for Romania. We recall that at the London Olympics in 2012 Romanian athletes won 9 medals.
Competitions have already kick-started, even ahead of the official opening ceremony. The first surprise has already occurred in football, since Brazil, with superstar Neymar in the lineup, succeeded a lackluster blank draw against South Africa.
