Marian Dragulescu

Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache qualified on Sunday for the balance beam final with the fourth score, 14.133, following the artistic gymnastics women's qualification competition, in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Larisa Iordache, who had announced she would only compete in the balance beam event due to her ankle pains, blamed the landing at the end of the performance on her accident as well.

The multiple world and European champion in artistic gymnastics Marian Dragulescu said, in an interview granted to AGERPRES, commenting on the isolation that all participants will be subjected to at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the context of the pandemic, that he is willing to accept 2-3 weeks of "prison" for the gold medal.

The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) presented on Sunday evening Team Romania for the Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23 - August 8) which includes 100 athletes - 45 women and 55 in men - who will be competing in 17 sports.

On the 100-day milestone to the start of the Tokyo Olympics, tennis ace Simona Halep posted a video message on the Facebook page of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, stating that her only dream is to be the best in the supreme competition. "100 days to go and one dream, to be the best at the Olympic Games.

Romania will line up three female and three male gymnasts for the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships scheduled between April 21 and 25 in Basel, Switzerland, according to a post on the official website of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation (FRG).

Epee fencer Ana Maria Popescu, gold medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games with the team, became the 60th Romanian athlete qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, announced on Tuesday evening the Romanian Fencing Federation and the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. Ana-Maria secured her place to Tokyo after finishing first in the world ranking of the event, the federation said.

Former and current Olympic, world and European champions such as Nadia Comaneci, Cristina Neagu, Mihai Covaliu, Gabriela Szabo, Marian Dragulescu, Elizabeta Samara or Ionela Cozmiuc have recently gone public, encouraging Romanians to stay at home and observe the orders of the authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Marian Dragulescu has become the 50th Romanian athlete qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, after earning the ticket for the vault event final, on Monday, at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart. Dragulescu, who will turn 39 on 18 December, reached the final with the sixth score in qualifications, 14.624, after vaults of 14.616, respectively 14.633.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, WTA's 4th, presented the trophy won in the tournament of Wimbledon, the second Grand Slam of her career after Roland Garros, on Wednesday evening, within a ceremony organised on the National Arena of the Capital, which saw approximately 20,000 Bucharesters in attendance.

Retired three-time world champion runner Gabriela Szabo, retired artistic gymnast Andreea Raducan, a multiple gold medallist, and tennis player Victor Hanescu are among the public figures to participate in the Wings for Life World Run, a sports event with charitable purposes to be staged on May 3 in Bucharest, organisers report.

Photo credit: (c) Radu TUTA / AGERPRES PHOTO