Sports Roundup

News from swimming, water polo, and football

Florin Orban, 26.06.2023, 13:45

In Poland, the European Games hosted by Crakow and Malopolska region carry on. After 5 days of competitions, Romania is placed 18th in the nations ranking. Romanian athletes have won 8 medals so far, including 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze ones. Gold medals went to cyclist Vlad Dascălu, in the mountain bike race, and to athlete Claudia Bobocea, in the womens 1,500m race. Athletes Bianca Ghelber in the hammer throw event, and Daniela Stanciu in the high jump event won silver medals, and so did Cătălin Chirilă in the mens canoe single 500m final. Taking home bronze medals were Ştefan Comănescu, in the mens kumite 67 kg, athlete Andrea Miklos in the womens 400m race, and Mălina Călugăreanu in the womens foil individual final.

This weekend the Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 100m and 200m freestyle finals of the “Sette Colli Trophy” international competition in Rome, both with new competition records. In the 200m event, he defeated the Olympic champion Tom Dean. This was the last test for Popovici ahead of the world swimming championships in Fukuoka, Japan, scheduled between 13 and 30 July.

Romanias womens water polo team won all matches in Group B of the 2024 European Championships qualifiers, held in Otopeni. The Romanians defeated Sweden 14-9, Switzerland 7-5, and Turkey 16-5, respectively, and qualified to the final tournament due in Netanya, Israel in January. Romanias mens team is also taking part in the final tournament in Israel, after finishing top of Group D in the qualifiers. In Kranj, Slovenia, the team coached by Bogdan Rath and George Deacu outplayed Switzerland 19-9 and Finland 19-6, and drew 10-all against the host nation.

At the European Under-21 Football Championship hosted jointly by Romania and Georgia, the national team takes on Croatia on Tuesday in Group B. In the first 2 group matches, Romania lost 0-3 to Spain on Wednesday, and 0-1 to Ukraine on Saturday.

Also in football, one of the most popular football clubs in Romania, Rapid Bucharest, this weekend celebrated 100 years of history. Originally a football club of railway workers, Rapid is known for outstanding performances prior to WWI. In 1940, the team qualified for the final of the Central European Cup, which was never played however. The club then grew to cover multiple sports, and achieved top level performances in several fields, including handball and volleyball. (AMP)