Sports Roundup
The weekend brought Romania medals in weightlifting, swimming, and athletics
Florin Orban, 09.11.2026, 13:45
Romania concluded the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China, with one medal. The Cuban-born athlete Luis Manuel Lauret Rodriguez won the silver in the 110 kg category (snatch), lifting 194 kilograms. In the clean and jerk, he lifted 222 kilograms, finishing in 7th place. Rodriguez ranked fourth in the overall standings. At the Ningbo World Championships, the first qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Romania was represented by 5 athletes (3 women and 2 men).
At the Youth Olympic Games currently taking place in Dakar, Senegal, the Romanian team has secured four medals so far. The swimmer Daria Silişteanu won gold in the 50m and 100m backstroke events, and silver in the 100m butterfly. In athletics, Amelia Ioana Negulescu won a silver medal in the triple jump.
On Friday, Romania’s rugby team lost 43–38 to Tonga in Bucharest, as part of the Nations Cup. Both sides scored 6 tries each. Also in Bucharest, the Romania will face the US on Saturday, November 14, followed by a match against Canada on Friday, November 20.
On Sunday, Romania’s women’s handball champions, Gloria Bistrița, defeated the Croatian side Podravka Koprivnica 33–29 on home court in the Champions League Group B. The Transylvanian team currently sits in third place in the group. On Saturday, the Romanian runners-up CSM Bucharest suffered a 40–25 defeat away from home against the French side Brest Bretagne in Group A, where they remain in fourth place.
In men’s handball, the Romanian national team was defeated 30–28 by Poland on Sunday in Tulcea, in a match for Group 6 of the 2028 European Championship qualifiers. In their first group match on Thursday, Romania had lost 34–27 to France in Aix-en-Provence. Romania’s next match will be away from home against Latvia on March 10 or 11 next year. France and Poland lead the standings with 4 points each. The top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placed teams, will move forward in the competition.
Over the weekend, matches took place counting towards the 15th round of the Romanian Superliga, the final round in the first half of the regular season. On Friday, Petrolul Ploiești defeated UTA 1–0 in Arad, while FC Argeș secured a 2–1 win over Dinamo Bucharest in Mioveni. On Saturday, in Miercurea Ciuc, Csikszereda and Universitatea Cluj played to a 0-0 draw. The match in Ovidiu between Farul Constanța and Rapid Bucharest also ended in a draw, 1-1. The surprise of the day came from Bucharest, where Corvinul Hunedoara defeated FCSB 1-0. On Sunday, in Sfântu Gheorghe, Sepsi beat FC Voluntari 2-1, while CFR Cluj and Universitatea Craiova drew 0-0. The final match of the round takes place on Monday: FC Botoșani versus Oțelul Galați. Craiova and Dinamo lead the standings with 33 points each, followed by Rapid with 31. (AMP)
