Romania At The 2004 Summer Olympics

Romanian athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1924, missing only two editions, including the 1948 Summer Olympics. The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (Romanian: Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român, COSR) sent the nation's smallest team to the Games since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. A total of 108 athletes, 50 men and 58 women, had competed in 16 different sports, most notably in artistic gymnastics and rowing. For the third time in Olympic history, Romania was again represented by more female than male athletes.

Romania at the 2004 Summer Olympics
IOC code	ROU (ROM used at these Games)
NOC	Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee
Website	www.cosr.ro (in Romanian, English, and French)
in Athens
Competitors	108 in 16 sports
Flag bearer	Elisabeta Lipă
Medals Ranked 14th	Gold 8 Silver 5 Bronze 6 Total 19
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1900 1904–1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

The Romanian team featured several Olympic medalists from Sydney four years earlier, including coxless rowing pair Monica Roşu and Viorica Susanu, sprint canoeists Florin Popescu and Mitică Pricop, gymnastics champion Marius Urzică in men's pommel horse, and rowers Doina Ignat and Georgeta Andrunache. Pistol shooter and 1988 Olympic champion Sorin Babii, and rowing legend Elisabeta Lipă, who won a total of seven Olympic medals in her illustrious sporting career, became the first Romanian athletes to compete in six Olympic Games. Having received the second most medals by a single athlete in the nation's Olympic history, Lipa reprised her role to carry the Romanian flag in the opening ceremony for the second consecutive time.

Despite being the smallest team to the Games since 1988, Romania left Athens with a total of 19 Olympic medals, 8 golds, 5 silver, and 6 bronze, failing only three golds short of the total achieved in Sydney. Most of these medals were awarded to the athletes in artistic gymnastics and rowing, including three prestigious Olympic titles from Cătălina Ponor in women's floor, balance beam, and team all-around exercises. Apart from Ponor's Olympic glory, the nation's highlight of the Games also came with a powerful triumph of the rowing team, as the Romanians managed to secure their title in the women's eight. With a stark tally of eight medals, Lipa greatly emerged as the most successful female rower in the entire Olympic history after winning her fourth consecutive gold and fifth overall within a record span of 20 years.

Romanian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).

Key

• Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men
Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Gheorghe Gușet	Shot put	19.68	14	Did not advance
Marian Oprea	Triple jump	17.44	3 Q	17.55
Bogdan Țăruș	Long jump	8.08	8 q	8.21	8
Ștefan Vasilache	High jump	2.25	=15	Did not advance

Women
Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Mihaela Botezan	10000 m	—				31:11.24 NR	11
Norica Câmpean	20 km walk	—				1:34:30	27
Daniela Cârlan		—				1:37:14	37
Maria Cioncan	800 m	1:59.64	1 Q	1:59.44	2 Q	1:59.62	7
	1500 m	4:06.68	1 Q	4:06.69	1 Q	3:58.39
Alina Cucerzan	1500 m	4:18.07	13	Did not advance
Constantina Diță	Marathon	—				2:37:31	20
Ana Maria Groza	20 km walk	—				1:34:56	29
Elena Iagăr	1500 m	4:11.48	11	Did not advance
Nuța Olaru	Marathon	—				2:34:45	13
Lidia Șimon		—				DNF
Ionela Târlea-Manolache	400 m hurdles	54.41	1 Q	53.32	2 Q	53.38
Angela Moroșanu Alina Răpanu Maria Rus Ionela Târlea-Manolache	4 × 400 m relay	3:27.36	5 q	—		3:26.81	6

Field events

Romania sent three boxers to Athens. None lost in the round of 32, as two won and the third had a bye. In the round of 16, though, one boxer was defeated. Another fell in the quarterfinal. The third survived to the semifinal, where he was defeated to finish with a bronze medal. That medal put Romania in a five-way tie for 16th place in the boxing medal count.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Viorel Simion	Featherweight	Langham (AUS) W 40–15	Biarnadski (BLR) W 38–13	Jo S-H (KOR) L 35–39	Did not advance
Ionuț Gheorghe	Light welterweight	Karim (PAK) W 26–11	Karagöllü (TUR) W 28–19	di Rocco (ITA) W 29–18	Boonjumnong (THA) L 9–30	Did not advance
Marian Simion	Middleweight	Bye	Yasser (EGY) L 29–36	Did not advance

Sprint

Men

Women

Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinal

Mountain biking

Women

Eventing

Six Romanian fencers (two men and four women) qualified for the following events.

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Alexandru Nyisztor	Individual épée	Nikishyn (UKR) W 15–6	Rota (ITA) L 8–15	Did not advance
Mihai Covaliu	Individual sabre	Bye	Zhou Hm (CHN) W 15–10	Sznajder (UKR) W 15–9	Nemcsik (HUN) L 14–15	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Ana Maria Brânză	Individual épée	Gamir (ALG) W 15–14	Hormay (HUN) W 15–13	Zhang L (CHN) L 13–15	Did not advance
Laura Badea-Cârlescu	Individual foil	—	Bye	Meng J (CHN) W 15–11	Gruchała (POL) L 7–15	Did not advance
Roxana Scarlat		—	Bye	Nam H-H (KOR) L 7–15	Did not advance
Cătălina Gheorghițoaia	Individual sabre	—	Toure (SEN) W 15–6	Socha (POL) W 15–12	Zhang Y (CHN) W 15–13	Zagunis (USA) L 7–15	Jacobson (USA) L 7–15	4

Artistic

Men
Team

Athlete	Event	Qualification								Final
		Apparatus						Total	Rank	Apparatus						Total	Rank
		F	PH	R	V	PB	HB			F	PH	R	V	PB	HB
Marian Drăgulescu	Team	9.762 Q	9.325	9.475	9.762 Q	9.562	9.550	57.436	4 Q	9.562	—		9.825	9.200	—
Ilie Daniel Popescu		—	9.625	9.562	—					—	9.687	9.650	—
Dan Nicolae Potra		9.537	9.300	9.500	9.362	9.550	8.500	55.749	25	—		9.587	—	9.537	—
Răzvan Dorin Șelariu		9.625	—	9.700	9.500	9.150	9.512	—		9.475	—	9.725	9.525	—	8.912	—
Ioan Silviu Suciu		9.650	9.712	9.487	9.637	9.500	9.412	57.398	6 Q	9.687	9.737	—	9.675	—	9.275	—
Marius Urzică		—	9.812 Q	—		9.700	9.675	—		—	9.825	—		9.725	9.775	—
Total		38.574	38.474	38.249	38.261	38.312	38.149	230.019	3 Q	28.724	29.249	28.962	29.025	28.462	27.962	172.384

Individual finals

Athlete	Event	Apparatus						Total	Rank
		F	PH	R	V	PB	HB
Marian Drăgulescu	All-around	9.612	9.525	9.562	9.850	9.437	9.337	57.323	8
	Floor	9.787	—					9.787
	Vault	—			9.612	—		9.612
Ioan Silviu Suciu	All-around	9.650	9.737	9.550	9.737	9.312	9.662	57.648	4
Marius Urzică	Pommel horse	—	9.825	—				9.825

Women
Team

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		V	UB	BB	F			V	UB	BB	F
Oana Ban	Team	9.325	9.425	9.625	9.600	37.975	3 Q*	—	9.187	9.512	9.437	—
Alexandra Eremia		—	9.287	9.687 Q	9.150	—		—		9.687	—
Cătălina Ponor		9.500	—	9.775 Q	9.687 Q	—		9.412	—	9.762	9.750	—
Monica Roșu		9.675 Q	9.375	—	9.350	—		9.625	9.387	—
Nicoleta Daniela Șofronie		9.425	9.625 Q	9.487	9.525 Q	38.062	2 Q	9.400	9.562	—	9.562	—
Silvia Stroescu		9.225	9.325	9.512	—	—		Did not compete
Total		37.925	37.750	38.599	38.162	152.436	1 Q	28.437	28.136	28.961	28.749	114.283

* Oana Ban qualified for the individual all-around, but later withdrew from the final because of her injuries sustained in the team all-around final.

Individual finals

Athlete	Event	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		V	UB	BB	F
Alexandra Eremia	Balance beam	—		9.700	—	9.700
Cătălina Ponor	Floor	—			9.750	9.750
	Balance beam	—		9.787	—	9.787
Monica Roșu	Vault	9.656	—			9.656
Nicoleta Daniela Șofronie	All-around	9.412	9.637	9.362	9.537	37.948	5
	Floor	—			9.562	9.562
	Uneven bars	—	9.462	—		9.462	6

Four Romanian judoka (two men and two women) qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Claudiu Baștea	−73 kg	Mariko (MLI) W 0210–0000	Neto (POR) L 0001–1020	Did not advance
Gabriel Munteanu	+100 kg	Tmenov (RUS) L 0000–1110	Did not advance			Hernandes (BRA) L 0000–1000	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Alina Dumitru	−48 kg	Bye	Shishkina (KAZ) W 0012–0011	Żemła-Krajewska (POL) W 1000–0000	Tani (JPN) L 0001–0211	Bye			Gao F (CHN) L 0110–1010	5
Ioana Maria Aluaş	−52 kg	Stormont (NZL) W 1010–0000	Euranie (FRA) L 0030–0111	Did not advance		Bye	Monteiro (POR) W 1000–0000	Souakri (ALG) L 0100–0121	Did not advance

Romanian rowers qualified the following boats:

Men

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Georgeta Damian Viorica Susanu	Pair	7:29.74	1 FA	Bye		—		7:06.56
Camelia Macoviciuc-Mihalcea Simona Muşat	Double sculls	7:39.32	3 R	6:58.00	2 FA	—		7:17.58	5
Angela Alupei Constanța Burcică	Lightweight double sculls	6:50.64	1 SA/B	Bye		6:51.84	1 FA	6:56.05
Aurica Bărăscu Georgeta Damian Rodica Florea Liliana Gafencu Elena Georgescu Doina Ignat Elisabeta Lipă Ioana Papuc Viorica Susanu (cox)	Eight	6:03.99	1 FA	Bye		—		6:17.70

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; R=Repechage

Two Romanian shooters qualified to compete in the following events:

Men

Romanian swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time):

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Dragoș Coman	400 m freestyle	3:51.73	16	—		Did not advance
	1500 m freestyle	15:06.33 NR	6 Q	—		15:10.21	7
Răzvan Florea	100 m backstroke	55.77	=14 Q	55.27	10	Did not advance
	200 m backstroke	1:58.81	4 Q	1:58.20	4 Q	1:57.56
Ioan Gherghel	100 m butterfly	53.89	27	Did not advance
	200 m butterfly	1:58.12	=7 Q	1:57.31	6 Q	1:56.10	5

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Beatrice Câșlaru	200 m individual medley	2:14.70	6 Q	2:14.25	6 Q	2:15.40	8
	400 m individual medley	4:46.94	14	—		Did not advance
Larisa Lăcustă	200 m freestyle	2:06.62	38	Did not advance
Simona Păduraru	400 m freestyle	4:10.39	11	—		Did not advance
	800 m freestyle	8:34.15	8 Q	—		8:37.02	8
Camelia Potec	200 m freestyle	2:00.50	11 Q	1:59.25	7 Q	1:58.03 NR
	400 m freestyle	4:07.39	3 Q	—		4:06.34	4
	800 m freestyle	8:41.20	16	—		Did not advance
Beatrice Câșlaru Larisa Lăcustă Simona Păduraru Camelia Potec	4 × 200 m freestyle relay	8:09.67	11	—		Did not advance

Four Romanian table tennis players qualified for the following events.

Athlete	Event	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Adrian Crişan	Men's singles	Bye	Lupulesku (USA) W 4–0	Chiang P-L (TPE) L 1–4	Did not advance
Otilia Bădescu	Women's singles	Bye	Kravchenko (ISR) L 2–4	Did not advance
Mihaela Steff		Bye		Kim H-M (PRK) L 2–4	Did not advance
Adriana Zamfir		Bye	Shaban (JOR) W 4–1	Lin L (HKG) W 4–2	Wang N (CHN) L 1–4	Did not advance
Mihaela Steff Adriana Zamfir	Women's doubles	Bye		Tan P F / Zhang Xl (SIN) L 1–4	Did not advance

Romania nominated two male tennis players to compete in the tournament.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Victor Hănescu	Men's singles	Arthurs (AUS) L 4–6, 6–7(4–7)	Did not advance
Andrei Pavel		Karlović (CRO) L 4–6, 7–6(12–10), 2–6	Did not advance
Victor Hănescu Andrei Pavel	Men's doubles	—	Kiefer / Schüttler (GER) L 5–7, 6–7(3–7)	Did not advance

Seven Romanian weightlifters qualified for the following events:

Men

Women

Key

• VT – Victory by Fall.
• PP – Decision by Points – the loser with technical points.
• PO – Decision by Points – the loser without technical points.

Men's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Elimination Pool				Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Nicolae Ghiţă	−84 kg	Aliev (TJK) L 1–3 PP	Sazhidov (RUS) L 0–5 VT	Sène (SEN) W 3–1 PP	3	Did not advance			9
Rareș Chintoan	−120 kg	Thiele (GER) L 0–3 PO	Polatçı (TUR) L 0–4 ST	—	3	Did not advance			19

Men's Greco-Roman

Athlete	Event	Elimination Pool			Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Marian Sandu	−55 kg	Tengizbayev (KAZ) W 3–0 PO	Im D-W (KOR) L 1–3 PP	2	Did not advance			11
Eusebiu Diaconu	−60 kg	Passos (POR) W 4–0 ST	Gruenwald (USA) W 3–1 PP	1 Q	Jung J-H (KOR) L 0–3 PO	Did not advance		6
Petru Sudureac	−96 kg	Hashemzadeh (IRI) L 1–3 PP	Ežerskis (LTU) L 1–3 PP	3	Did not advance			15

• Romania at the 2004 Summer Paralympics