Romania at the Olympic Games

Romania's rugby team won the country's first ever Olympic medal, back in 1924.

Florin Orban, 16.07.2024, 13:45

This year marks 100 years since the first Olympic medal won by Romania. This happened in 1924 in Paris, at the seventh edition of the Games. Romania was represented in four sports: football, tennis, shooting and rugby. Without any support from the authorities, most athletes travelled to Paris by train, on low-fare tickets, for which they paid themselves with the help of the clubs they were affiliated to.

At the Games, the Romanian athletes had a poor performance in tennis and shooting. In shooting, Romania’s best result was 13th place in the air rifle event. In tennis, Romanian players did not make it past the second round, neither in the singles, nor in the doubles competition. In football, Romania played a single match, losing nil-6 to The Netherlands.

In rugby, a total of three teams took part in the competition: France, the United States and Romania. Romania’s taking part was instrumental to the competition being held in the first place. Romania played the opening match on May 4, 1924, on the Olympic Stadium in Colombes. France won the match 59-3, scoring 13 tries, of which 4 by Adolphe Jaureguy. Romania scored its only points through Teodor Florian, who converted a penalty kick.

In their following match, which was against the United States, Romania were enthusiastically supported by the French fans, who saw the US as the favourite to win the Olympic title. Their support did little to help however, and Romania lost 39-nil.

The United States went on to win the final 17-3 against the host team, France. Romania ranked 3rd in the final standings, thus winning the bronze and Romania’s first ever Olympic medal.