Romania at the Olympic Games: The youngest champions

The youngest Romanian Olympic champions came from gymnastics and swimming

Florin Orban, 21.05.2026, 13:45

Romanian athletes have often stood out through outstanding performances at a young age. The great champions have proved their worth since their junior years, and the best example is Romania’s number one athlete, Nadia Comăneci. At 12 years old, at the Romanian Internationals, she won the first place in the all-around event and in all 4 apparatus finals in the junior competition. She is also the youngest Olympic champion in Romanian history. In 1976, in Montreal, she won 3 gold medals, in the all-around, parallel bars and beam events. She first climbed the Olympic podium at 14 years and 249 days old.

In a ranking of Romania’s youngest Olympic champions, Nadia is followed by another gymnast, a medalist at just 14 years and 321 days old: Simona Păucă. In 1984, in Los Angeles, she won the gold with the Romanian team and the beam final, tied with Ecaterina Szabo.

Next comes Lavinia Miloşovici, twice an Olympic champion in Barcelona ​​in 1992, in floor and vault, at the age of 15 years and 295 days. The 10/10 score she won for the floor exercise was the last in the history of gymnastics. “Milo” also competed in 1996, in Atlanta, where she was awarded silver medals in the individual all-around and team events.

Leaving gymnastics and moving forward in time, we stop at the 2000 edition of the Olympic Games, which took place in Sydney. The surprise in that edition of the Olympics was Diana Mocanu, an Olympic champion at 16 years and 15 days in the 100- and 200-metre backstroke.

The youngest Romanian Olympic champion in the men’s events, David Popovici, also competes in swimming. On July 29, 2024, in La Défense arena in Paris, he won gold in the 200-metre freestyle at the age of 19 years, 10 months and 14 days. It is worth noting, however, that at 17 years, 10 months and 29 days, at the European Championships in Rome in the summer of 2022, he broke the world record in the 100-metre freestyle. (AMP)