How do you define greatness? A mind-bending feat that surpasses expectation and rationality? A moment of authentic surprise that inverts the weight of pressing odds? Or perhaps an incision in the linear unfurling of your heart?
In sport, we are quick to anoint greatness upon each other. A performance that impresses us is often bestowed the virtue of greatness before it can even truly be understood. It is easy to attach brilliance onto bravery and boldness but sometimes the two should not be conflated. True greatness should combine mastery, magnanimity and more than a hint of magic.
The Olympic Games is our ultimate magic show. A procession of truly elite talent, operating at the pinnacle of their sport and thrust forward into a limelight fostered by four years of relative translucency. These two weeks are stitched into the very fabric of competition, dating back to the lore of Ancient Greece, and have transcended the politics of modern society to become the ultimate marker in sporting excellence. To win Olympic Gold gives you immortality of a rare and timeless specification – your story will be perpetuated forevermore, carried forward by the whispers of generations to come, who too aim to climb those sacred steps and join this club of champions. Emerging over the horizon, this time in the blue and red hue of palatial Paris, we are ready for the very fastest in rowing to be crowned.
Step forward, my friends – The Olympic Games have come.
The Stats
Country
Romania
Crew Names
Madalina Beres
Roxana Anghel
Geanina Dumitrita Juncanariu
Iuliana Buhus
Adriana Adam
Amalia Beres
Andreea Popa
Simona Radis
Victoria Stefania Petreanu (c)
Average Age
26 years
Olympic Record
Bronze in the W8+ at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (M.Beres)
Sixth in the W8+ at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (A.Beres, M.Beres)
Ninth in the W4- at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Anghel)
Ninth W2- at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Adam, Buhus)
Gold in the W2x at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Radis)
2024 Competitive Record
World Rowing Cup 1: 3rd (W8+)
World Rowing Cup 2: N/A
World Rowing Cup 3: N/A
European Championships: 1st (W8+)
The Profile
Romania last won the Olympic women’s eight title back in 2004 (which was their third in a row) and they are the only country to have competed in this boat class at every Olympics (including LA84 when the rest of the Eastern Bloc boycotted the Games). Their assault on Paris includes six athletes with Olympic experience, including Tokyo women’s double gold medallist Simona Radis. Romania have won the world championships for the last two seasons, although for 2024 only five of that crew return (the Beres sisters, Anghel, Adam and coxswain Petreneau).  These five, along with Radis, raced at the European championships (with Maria Lehaci, Maria Rusu and Ioana Vrinceneau) winning the gold medal (Romania’s eighth consecutive European women’s eight title and their 16th since 2007). The Romanian’s also raced the eight at the opening World Rowing Cup, although that crew had only three of the line-up for Paris (Juncanariu, Buhus & Popa), and they finished third. With the Romanians not having raced in their final line-up yet, their form will be tricky to assess. With Radis focusing on the eight rather than the double, in which she is Olympic and world Champion, it suggests they are prioritising this boat and looking for their third Olympic title. My money will still be on the Canadians to have the edge though.
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