Athlete of the Week on RRI

Fencer Simona Gherman

Florin Orban, 16.02.2016, 13:41

The Romanian women’s epee team has moved up in top position in the World Cup rankings. On Sunday, in the World Cup stage of the women’s epee team competition hosted by Buenos Aires, the Romanian fencers grabbed a 45-40 win over Russia in the team finals. In the eighth finals Romania edged out Brazil 45-37, in the quarterfinals they knocked out the United States 45-27, and in the semi-finals they defeated Estonia 45-36.

In the singles competition, Simona Gherman ranked 3rd. In the first round she defeated Liubov Shutova of Russia, 15-13. She won narrowly against Erika Kirpu of Estonia 15-14 in the second round, and won against Nathalie Moellhausen of Brazil 15-12 in the eighth finals. In the semi-finals Gherman won easily against Britta Heidemann of Germany, the Olympic champion of 2008. In the semi-finals however she lost to Irina Embrich of Estonia, 15-10.

For her good performance in the World Cup this weekend, we have designated Simona Gherman Athlete of the Week on RRI. Simona Gherman was born on April 12, 1985 in Bucharest. In 2004 she became the world junior champion in the team event, alongside Loredana Iordachioiu and Ana-Maria Branza. In the seniors’ competitions, she won two world titles with Romania’s team, in 2010 in Paris and in 2011 in Catania. Simona Gherman also contributed to Romania’s five European titles, in 2008 in Kiev, in 2009 in Plovdiv, in 2011 in Sheffield, in 2014 in Strasbourg and in 2015 in Montreux. In 2012 she became European champion in the singles event in Legnano, Italy.