Romania will be represented by 29 athletes at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, following the approval of the national delegation by the Executive Committee of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR). The delegation includes 28 athletes and one reserve, accompanied by technical staff. 

The Romanian team will be accommodated across six Olympic Villages and will compete in nine sporting disciplines.

In biathlon, hosted at the Anterselva Olympic Village, Romania will be represented by six athletes, two women and four men. The women’s team consists of Anastasia Tolmacheva and Andreea Mezdrea, while George Buta, George Colțea, Raul Flore, and Dmitrii Shamaev will compete in the men’s events.

The bobsleigh team, based in Cortina, will include four male athletes, namely Constantin Dinescu, George Iordache, Mihai Păcioianu, and Mihai Tentea, with Andrei Nica named as reserve.

Romania will be represented by a single athlete in figure skating, with Julia Sauter competing in the women’s event from the Milan Olympic Village under the guidance of coach Roxana Luca.

Meanwhile, seven athletes will take part in luge competitions in Cortina, with Corina Buzățoiu, Raluca Strămăturaru, and Carmen Manolescu entered in the women’s events, and Valentin Crețu, Eduard Crăciun, Marian Gîtlan, and Darius Șerban competing in the men’s races.

In ski jumping, four athletes will represent Romania from the Predazzo Olympic Village. Daniela Toth and Delia Folea will compete in the women’s events, while Daniel Cacina and Mihnea Spulber will represent the men.

Alpine skiing will see two Romanian athletes at the Games, with Sofia Moldovan competing in the women’s events in Cortina and Alexandru Ștefănescu racing in the men’s competitions in Bormio.

In cross-country skiing, hosted in Predazzo, Romania will be represented by Delia Reit in the women’s events and Paul Pepene and Gabriel Cojocaru in the men’s competitions.

The Romanian snowboard team, based in Livigno, will consist of two athletes, Kata Mandel and Henrietta Bartalis, coached by Kinda Geza, with Zoltan Reisz as assistant coach.

For the first time in Olympic history, the Milano Cortina 2026 Games will feature four opening ceremonies, COSR said. The main ceremony will take place in Milan and will be broadcast live worldwide, while three additional ceremonies will be held in Cortina, Livigno, and Predazzo.

Romania has designated seven flag bearers for the ceremonies. Julia Sauter will carry the national flag in Milan. In Livigno, the honor will go to Kata Mandel and Alexandru Ștefănescu. Daniela Toth and Paul Pepene will serve as flag bearers in Predazzo, while Raluca Strămăturaru and Mihai Tentea will represent Romania in Cortina.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place from February 6 to 22.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român)