RRI Sports Club

Romania returns to top of European bobsleigh.

Florin Orban, 22.02.2023, 13:45

Romanian bobsleigh athletes have had some notable results in this winters bobsleigh competitions, in all age categories. Last week in Winterberg, in Germany, they won several medals in the Europe Cup and the Junior European Championships. Last Friday, Mihai Tentea and Ciprian Daroczi won the gold medals in the 2-man bobsleigh at the Junior European Championships. Germanys Laurin Zern and Marvin Orthmann came in second. Andrei Nica and Mihai Calancea finished this race in 9th position; Andrei Turea and Alexandru Cordoş in 14th; and Rareş Dincă and Valentin Tudorache in the final position, 16th.

Last Saturday, in the Europe Cup 4-man bobsleigh event, Romanias crew piloted by Mihai Tentea and also comprising Ciprian Daroczi, Mihai Păcioianu and George Iordache ranked second in the seventh race, with Germany coming in first. In the 8th race, the Romanian crew came in third, behind Germany and the US. This latter result also counted towards the Junior Championships, where Romania won the silver. The crew made up of Georgeta Popescu and Antonia won the bronze in the 2-women bobsleigh event at the Under-23 European Championships, behind Germany and Austria. The time they clocked in this race earned them the 8th place in the Europe Cup.

The return of Romanian bobsleigh to the top of European competitions comes as no surprise. This sport has a longstanding tradition in this country, with Romanias only medal at the winter Olympic Games coming in fact from bobsleigh, back in 1968 in Grenoble, when Ion Panţuru and Nicolae Neagoe won the bronze medal in 2-man bobsleigh. (CM)