Sochi 2014: Everything you need to know about Romania’s presence at the Winter Olympics

Newsroom 11/02/2014 | 09:29

Romania will be represented by 24 athletes in eight competitions out of 15 at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, according to an official statement by the Romanian Olympics and Sports Committee (ROSC). The committee refused to be drawn on the odds of local athletes coming home with any medals, saying they would be very happy with top ten finishes.

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“A Romanian athlete making the top ten would be the equivalent of a medal for us, and a placement in the top 20 would also be a remarkable performance, given the state of winter sports in Romania,” said Ioan Dobrescu, secretary general of the ROSC. Nicolae Banicioiu, the minister of youth and sports, added, “Our athletes will get results in accordance with the time they have spent training and in other competitions. A life dedicated to sports means, I believe, a step towards the winners’ podium. (…) They will continue a long tradition of success and sporting performances.”

Romania has won just a single medal in the Winter Olympics to date, back in 1968, when athletes Ion Panturu and Nicolae Neagoe took bronze in the bobsleigh in Grenoble, France. But the country has a tradition in the competition, having missed only two Winter Olympics so far: the first Games, which took place in Chamonix, France, in 1924, and the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley, in the US.

At the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, in 2010, Romania’s best performance came from its biathlon team, Dana Plotogea, Eva Tofalvi, Mihaela Purdea and Reka Ferenc, who came tenth.
Financing Olympic athletes

According to the ROSC, some of the local athletes going to Sochi have benefited from sports scholarships financed by Olympic Solidarity, a division of the Olympic Charter. Monthly, each beneficiary received USD 1,500, of which only USD 300 went directly to the athlete, with the rest spent on national and international accommodation and training, says Florin Ticu, general secretary of the Romanian Bobsleigh and Luge Federation. The athletes who were awarded scholarships are Ania Monica Germaine Caill, Florin Craciun and Nicolae Istrate, according to the official Sochi Olympics website. At international level, Olympic Solidarity put up USD 10 million for scholarships for Sochi 2014 athletes.

Moreover, all Romanian athletes get an Olympics allowance, settled by national legislation, namely Sport Law, no. 69/2000.

The ROSC have as official sponsors Renault Romania and Alexandrion Group Foundation, while the insurer of the Romanian athletes is Groupama. Contacted by BR, Thomas Dubruel, general director of Renault Commercial Roumanie, said the firm “supports the participation of the Romanian delegation in the Olympic Games because we believe that athletes participating in this competition must enjoy all the attention.” Renault gave all the Romanian athletes who made the podium of London 2012 Olympic Games cars, a gesture of recognition that will probably be repeated if local athletes win any medals in Sochi.

Training days

Asked by BR where the local athletes have been training, Ticu replied that the summer-autumn preparation happened in three locations, Poiana Brasov, Piatra Arsa in the Bucegi Mountains, and the Lia Manoliu complex in Bucharest, where they undertake general athletic preparation. In winter season, the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton athletes train on European artificial slopes.

For Sochi 2014, the Romanian athletes trained in Lillehammer in Norway, Konigssee, Altenberg, and Winterberg in Germany and Innsbruck, Austria. In an interview with Mediafax newswire, Dorin Velicu, who represents Romania at skeleton, said that the Sinaia slope was no longer available to practice the sport, and that training took place exclusively outside Romania, where is it difficult to train without financial support. In an attempt to help the athletes train, in summer 2012, a bobsleigh slope was built in Bucharest, but it can only be used for practicing the start of the event.

The Sochi website reports that figure skater Zoltan Kelemen trains 28 hours a week in low season, and 24 hours a week in high season. In low season he trains in Brasov and Miercurea Ciuc, both in Romania, and Flims, Switzerland, and in the high season in Brasov and Miercurea Ciuc.

The cost of the kit
With the largest delegation of Romanian athletes the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton contingents, BR asked Ticu to outline the costs of professional equipment.
Luge: EUR 5,000-6,000
Skeleton: EUR 6,000-6,500
Bob: EUR 30,000-100,000
Helmet: EUR 500
Aerodynamic chemise: EUR 300-400
Shoes EUR 200-300
Gloves EUR 50.

The Romanian line-up at Sochi 2014

Ania Monica Germaine Caill, who is only 18 years old, is representing Romania in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics with Alexandru George Barbu and Ioan Valeriu Achiriloaie. According to the official Sochi website, she changed allegiance from France to Romania in June 2012. Despite winning the French championships in her age category in 2011, Caill decided to compete for Romania due to the lack of opportunities on the French ski team for the 2014 Games. She was eligible thanks to her Romanian mother, who moved to France in 1992 to go to university.

For cross country skiing, Paul Constantin Pepene is hoping for a place on the Russian podium, having won the 30 km pursuit at the U-23 World Championships in January 2010. Timea Sara, another cross country skier, was the first Romanian to secure a place in the international competition, on February 8. Florin Daniel Pripici completes the line-up.

At just 16 years old, ski jumper Sorin Iulian Pitea is the youngest Olympic participant. He is the second ski jumper to represent Romania in the Olympics, according to the newspaper Adevarul. The first was Virgil Neagoe, who finished in last place at the Albertville Games in 1992. Pitea’s spot was assured by his 12th place finish in Sapporo’s Continental Cup.

Romania’s biathletes are Cornel Dumitru Puchianu and Eva Tofalvi, Romania’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony. She became the first local biathlete to take a place on the podium at a World Cup event when she finished second in the 15km individual event in Hochfilzen, Austria, in 2008. She later attained first place after the original winner, Russia’s Albina Akhatova, was disqualified for doping.

Figure skater Zoltan Kelemen is a seven-time Romanian national champion, according to the International Skating Union, coming 29th in the 2010 Games. Sports publication gsp.ro reports that he lost the sight in his right eye at age seven. Doctors have advised him not to compete, as there is a chance he could lose the sight in his left eye as well. At the beginning of each season he has to sign a form declaring that he is competing “at his own risk”.

Eight athletes are contesting the bobsleigh, but so far Nicolae Istrate is the only one who has obtained a notable ranking, having come eighth at the world championship in 2011. The local press has written that the bob the competitors use is a “historical one”. Contacted by BR, Ticu denied the allegation, saying the bob to be used in Sochi is the one which earned Istrate his eighth position.

Dorin Dumitru Velicu and Maria Marinela Mazilu are flying the flag in the skeleton competition. Velicu told Mediafax newswire that he missed two international training sessions in the run up to the Olympics, and will also be using a borrowed skeleton. Mazilu, meanwhile, competed in Vancouver in 2010, and won a bronze medal at the 2012 World Youth Championships in Igls, Austria.

For the luge team, formed of Valentin Cretu, Alexandru Teodorescu, Nicolae Radu Sovaiala and Raluca Stramaturaru, expectations are high for a top ten place, according to the national press.

In brief:

Alpine skiing: Alexandru George Barbu, Ioan Valeriu Achiriloaie, Ania Monica Germaine Caill
Cross country skiing: Paul Constantin Pepene, Florin Daniel Pripici, Timea Sara
Ski jumping: Sorin Iulian Pitea
Biathlon: Cornel Dumitru Puchianu and Eva Tofalvi
Figure skating: Zoltan Kelemen
Bobsleigh: Maria Adela Constantin, Andreea Grecu, Nicolae Istrate, Florin Cezar Craciun, Andreas Paul Neagu, Paul Septimiu Muntean, Danut Ion Moldovan, Bogdan Otava
Skeleton: Dorin Dumitru Velicu and Maria Marinela Mazilu
Luge: Valentin Cretu, Alexandru Teodorescu, Nicolae Radu Sovaiala, Raluca Stramaturaru.

Oana Vasiliu

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