Romania at the Olympics
The nation’s National Olympic Committee is the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee which was established and acknowledged in 1914, though the first athlete from Romania attended the 1900 Olympic Games. Romania first sent an official team to compete at the Olympic Games in 1924, and has missed only the Games of 1932 and 1948. Romania was the only nation in the Eastern Bloc that took part in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
At the Olympic Games in 1900, the single representative from Romania was trap shooter Gheorghe Plagino, who finished 13th of 31 competitors. The 1984 Olympics was Romania's most successful Olympic Games: winning 20 gold medals (53 medals in total).
Up until now, gymnastics is the number one source of medals for the country. Romania had qualified in the women’s team all-around event in gymnastics from 1972 to 2012. The nation had won medals in this event at every Olympiad it participated from 1976 to 2012.
Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci is the most popular gymnast of all-time and the only athlete to register a perfect score in the sport of gymnastics. She is the most decorated Romanian athlete and one of the legends of the Olympics with nine medals (five of them are gold). Other Romanian athletes who have won five gold medals are female rowers Elisabeta Lipa (1984 to 2004) and Georgita Damian (2000 to 2008).
In addition to gymnastics, other sports in which Romania have had success are rowing, athletics, canoeing and wrestling.
Trivia
- Romania's 3-letter IOC code is currently ROU. It has previously been ROM (1956–1960, 1972–2006), RUM (1964–1968).
- During the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Romanian Boxer Nicolae Berechet was eliminated in the first round of the featherweight class. On August 11, 1936, a few days after the match, he died mysteriously of blood poisoning and was buried in Berlin.
- At the opening ceremony in Paris 2024, Romanian rowing athletes Ionela-Livia Cozmiuc and Marius Cozmiuc became the first-ever married couple to serve as flag bearers for their country.
Related Pages
- Romania at the Winter Olympics
- More trivia from each Country at the Olympic Games
- About sport in Romania
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