Athletes of the Week on RRI – Rowers Ionela-Livia Lehaci and Gianina-Elena

Romanias delegation at the World Rowing Championships hosted by the United States grabbed two medals last week

Florin Orban, 03.10.2017, 13:48

On Saturday, Ionela-Livia Lehaci and Gianina-Elena Beleaga grabbed gold in the lightweight double-scull race. On Sunday, the women’s eight crew, made up of Ioana Vrînceanu, Viviana-Iuliana Bejinariu, Mihaela Petrilă, Iuliana Popa, Mădălina Bereş, Denisa Tîlvescu, Adelina Boguş, Laura Oprea and Daniela Druncea, also won gold. While their success was somewhat expected, the double-scull gold came as a surprise. For this reason we have designated Ionela-Livia Lehaci and Gianina-Elena Beleaga Athletes of the Week on RRI.

Lehaci and Beleaga won gold for Romania in the double-scull race after a break of nearly 10 years. Between 1996 and 2004 Romania dominated this Olympic event. Our crew, made up of Constanta Burcica and Camelia Mihalcea, won numerous awards during this period in international competitions. Then, between 2000 and 2004 it was time for Constanta Burcica and Angela Alupei to shine.

Ionela Livia-Lehaci was born on January 3, 1995 in Campulung Moldovenesc. Gianina-Elena Beleaga was born in Valea Moldovei on May 21, 1995. The two teamed up in 2015. In 2016 they qualified to the Rio Olympics, but their results were below par. In 2017 they had a poor start, ranking 4th in the European Rowing Championships hosted by Racice. Then they performed in the under-23 European Championships in Bulgaria, where they won gold. Earlier this year they also won the women’s double-scull race at the under-23 European Rowing Championships in Warsaw. (Translated by V. Palcu)