Chairman of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) Mihai Covaliu said on Wednesday, upon the homecoming of Romania’s rowing, artistic gymnastics and table tennis teams from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games that Romanians have a reason to be happy and at the same time confident that they can still win medals in Paris.
„Thank you for this warm welcome, we can feel the emotion and joy with which you welcome part of team Romania that returned today from the Olympic Games in Paris. So far, Romania’s tally is seven medals, three gold, three silver and one bronze, and we are currently in the top 20 nations in the world. We have reasons to be happy, we have reasons to be thankful and we have reasons to be confident that Team Romania athletes can continue to win medals,” Covaliu told a homecoming ceremony at the Official Lounge of the Henri Coanda Airport.
„Rowing, gymnastics and table tennis returned home today, and we would like to congratulate all those who participated in this edition of the games. Also, the warmest congratulations to the athletes who managed to win medals, but also to those who did not win this time. I have seen some of them angry and I am sorry because it means that they have realised what they did wrong and next time they will not repeat these mistakes. It is not easy to climb the Olympic podium, and these athletes have succeeded after an extraordinary work done in this Olympic cycle. I tell them that we are proud of them. They have the most beautiful medals around their necks after many editions of the Olympic Games. And I am absolutely convinced that more medals will come from this edition of the Olympic Games.”
Chair of the National Agency for Sports Elisabeta Lipa, was glad that the Romanian athletes who have competed so far have achieved exceptional results in Paris.
„The best of the best participated in this competition. That’s why I want to congratulate first of all those who didn’t get to the podium, because they deserve it. Then congratulations to the medallists and from the bottom of my heart congratulations to the Olympic champions. I am glad that today we return from the Olympic Games with exceptional results. Today, when I left Paris, Romania was on the 16th place in the ranking of nations thanks to these wonderful athletes. This means that it is possible, it means that we have potential and that we have the obligation to take care of them so that at the end of the next edition of the Olympic Games we will be at least as happy,” she said.
She added that all Romanians will do everything possible for Romania to take possession of the bronze medal in the women’s floor exercise final of the artistic gymnastics competition in Paris, lost after a challenge by team USA.
Rower Marian Enache, who won Romania’s first Olympic gold medal in Paris in the men’s double sculls with Andrei Cornea, said that it is something incredible when „you write history in gold ink.”
„We couldn’t miss the gold because I told Andrei that this is what we are there for, to win. To me, writing rowing history is a unique feeling, it’s something incredible, especially when you write history in gold ink. There is no more beautiful feeling than being an Olympic champion,” said Enache .
As of August 7, Romania had seven medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, three gold, three silver and one bronze. Gold was captured by swimmer David Popovici in the men’s 200m freestyle event; rowers Andrei Cornea and Marian Enache in the men’s double sculls, and Maria Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Anghel, Ancuta Bodnar, Maria Lehaci, Adriana Adam, Amalia Bere, Ioana Vrinceanu, Simona Radi, and Victoria Stefania Petreanu inwomen’s eight. Silver medallists were Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis in women’s double sculls; Ioana Vrinceanu and Roxana Anghel in women’s pair, and Gianina van Groningen and Ionela Cozmiuc in lightweight women’s double sculls, while the bronze medal was won by David Popovici in the men’s 100m freestyle swimming event.
AGERPRES
