Romania at the Olympic Games – Rowing

An outlook of Romania's participation in rowing events in the Olympics

Florin Orban, 25.05.2021, 13:45

Romanian rowers
have recently grabbed a number of very good performances. At the World Cup in
Lucerne, Switzerland, which came to a close last week, Romanian rowing crews
have secured qualification to the Tokyo Olympics. Romania’s rowing delegation
now totals 36 athletes, which will compete in a total of nine events.

Romania’s
highest hopes for a medal are pinned on the women’s 8+1 crew. In this event,
Romania has climbed onto the podium since 1996 onwards, with the exception of
the 2012 London Olympics. With three Olympic gold medals, three silver and
three bronze, the Romanian women’s 8+1 crew is the most successful in the
history of Romanian rowing. Over the years famous athletes have contributed to Romania’s
success, including Elisabeta Lipă, Georgeta Andrunache, Viorica Susanu, Liliana
Gafencu or Doina Ignat.

For years Romania
has also been dominating the women’s double-scull event. The list of Olympic
winners began in 1984 in Los Angeles, when Rodica Arba and Elena Horvat won the
gold. Most gold medals were scooped by Georgeta Andrunache. Alongside Doina
Ignat, she won the Olympic gold first in Sydney in 2000, then alongside Viorica
Susanu in Athens in 2004, and in Beijing in 2008.

We should
also mention the Romanian lightweight women’s double scull. In 1996, in Athens,
Constanța Burcică and Camelia Macoviciuc won the Olympic gold. Constanța
Burcică climbed onto the first step of the Olympic podium again in 2000 and
2004, alongside Angela Alupei. Apart from the aforementioned events, Romania
will be represented in Tokyo in another six rowing events: the men’s quadruple
sculls, the women’s quadruple sculls, the women’s pair, the men’s pair, the men’s
double-scull and the men’s 8+1 events.

Romania has
been taking part in rowing events in the Olympic Games since 1952, at the
Helsinki Olympics. Since then, it only missed one edition, in 1956 in Melbourne.
Along with gymnastics, rowing is the best-represented Romanian Olympic sport, having
earned Romania 19 gold medals, 10 silver and 9 bronze over the years. (VP)