Rio Olympics – An Update
The Summer Olympic Games in Rio go on without Romania winning any medal so far.
Florin Orban, 10.08.2016, 12:40
The Summer Olympic Games in Rio go on without Romania winning any medal so far. On Tuesday, Andreea Mitu and Raluca Olaru failed to qualify into the quarterfinals of the tennis doubles. The Romanians lost in two sets, 1-6, 4-6, the match against the Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Also on Tuesday, the Romanian rowers Cristi Pirghie and George Palamariu fell short in their bid to qualify into the men’s coxless pair final. They came out sixth in the first semi-final, and are scheduled to take part in the B-Final on Thursday.
The best Romanian performance so far remains the fifth place won by Corina Caprioriu in judo, in the 57-kilo category. An Olympic vice-champion four years ago in London, Corina kept her place in the category’s world elite. Here is what she posted on her Facebook account: “I really wanted a medal, first of all for you, the people who have supported me for years, who helped me get back on my feet and keep fighting. I wanted a medal for Romania. I did my best, I’ve given it all I had, but this time around, it was not meant to be. It is only natural to cry at times like this, and only an athlete who has sacrificed everything to sport can understand this. Thank you all for your messages and for being by my side all the way.”
We should also note that, after Tuesday’s events, the overall leader in the nations ranking is still the USA, with 9 gold medals, 8 silver and 9 bronze. Second comes China, with 8 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. Surprisingly enough, the third place in the provisional standing is held by Hungary, which already has 4 gold medals, a silver and a bronze, with swimmer Katinka Hoszu contributing three gold medals to her country’s total medal count.