Some of the best performances obtained by athletes from Romania at the Olympic Games along the years
Athletes from Romania have stepped onto the podium 306 times in 100 years of their participation in the Olympic Games. Out of the total number of medals they have won 89 were gold. 111 Romanians have at least one gold medal in their prize closet and 16 of them have twice stepped onto the podium's highest step.
Nadia Comaneci is the Romanian athlete with the highest number of Olympic medals, 9. She was born on 12th November 1961 in Onesti, eastern Romania, and took up gymnastics at the tender age of 5 after she had been discovered during a selection process involving local kindergartens. Nadia first made history at the Montreal Olympics where she reaped three gold medals in the individual all round event, uneven bars and balance beam. She also won silver in the nations contest and bronze in the floor event. Her most notable performance was at the Montreal Olympics where she scored a perfect 10, making the three digit scoreboards obsolete.
In 1980, Nadia reconfirmed her value at the Moscow Olympics from where she walked away with another two gold medals in the beam and floor events. She became bronze medalist in the individual all round and with the team. She made the headlines again in 1989 when she crossed the border to Hungary to settle in the United States dealing a heavy media blow to dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime.
With 8 Olympic medals, out of which 5 gold, another great Romanian champion is Elisabeta Lipa. Nadia won her medals in two Olympic Games whereas Lipa participated in six editions, being one of Romania's long-lasting athletes.
She was born on October 26th 1964 in Suceava county, northern Romania and scored her first Olympic gold in Los Angeles 1984 in the double sculls event together with Marioara Popescu. Four years later in Seoul she walked away with bronze as part of the Romanian four and with silver she won in the double scull race.
She compelled recognition for the first time in a singles contest in 1989 during the World Rowing Championship of Bled. She dominated the competition for several years and eventually reaped the title in Barcelona in 1992. She later joined the famous Romanian eight, which dominated the European and world competitions for many years. Together with her colleagues she managed to obtain another three Olympic golds, in 1996 in Atlanta, in 2000 in Sydney and in 2004 in Athens.
The third Romanian athlete with three Olympic gold medals is Georgeta Damian - Andrunache who was born on April 14th 1976 in Botosani, northern Romania. She made her debut in Aiguebellette, France in 1997 where she won silver in the pairs event together with Veronica Cochelea and gold with the Romanian eight.
The first place in the pairs race of the Sydney Olympics together with Doina Ignat was a surprise at that time. Together with Viorica Susanu, Georgeta Andrunache reaped the Olympic title in Athens and was part of the Romanian eight which would become Olympic champion. In 2008 in Beijing, the two again claimed gold in the pairs event and were part of the Romanian eight who became the bronze medalist.
(bill)
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