Athlete of the Week on RRI – Weightlifter Monica Csengeri

Monica Csengeri had a stellar performance at the European Weightlifting Championships

Florin Orban, 04.04.2017, 13:01

After the first two days, Romania grabbed 8 medals at the European Weightlifting Championships, hosted by Split, Croatia. On Sunday, our athletes won seven medals. Monica Csengeri grabbed three of them, all in the 48-kg category. She won gold in the snatch event, and silver medals in the clean and jerk and combined total events. Also in the 48-kg category, Elena Andries won bronze medals in the snatch and combined total events. Another two bronze medals were won by Ilie Ciotoiu, in the 56-kg category, in the clean and jerk and combined total events. On Monday, Madalina Molie won bronze in the total event in the 58-kg category.

For her remarkable achievement, we have designated Monica Csengeri Athlete of the Week on RRI.

Monica Csengeri was born on March 21, 1996 in Bistrita into an underprivileged family. Her coach, Adrian Chivu, told a local newspaper that as a kid, Monica used to beg for money on the streets of Bistrita. She found new meaning in sports, and at the age of 15 she already broke several national records and won the title in the snatch event in the world under-17 championships held in Kosice, Slovakia. At the 2015 European Championships in Tbilisi, Csengeri won bronze in the clean and jerk event. One year later, at the European Championships in Norway, she won gold in the snatch event and bronze in the combined total competition. Whereas in 2016 her main competitor was Sibel Ozkan of Turkey, a former Olympic medalist, this year Monica competed against Anais Michel of France for the gold medal. Aged 29, the French weightlifter this year grabbed her first medals in a major competition. (Translated by V. Palcu)