Romanian athletes secure eight medals at European Aerobic Gymnastics Championship
The Romanian representatives at the European Aerobic Gymnastics Championship held in Antalya, Turkey, secured eight medals in total, in individual and team competitions.
Claudia Ristea, David Gavrilovici, and Leonard Manta became the vice-champions of Europe in the trio category, winning the silver medal and scoring 20.277 in the final won by France with 20.447. Italy secured the bronze with a score of 19.894. Mădălin Boldea, Vlăduț Popa, and Antonio Surdu finished in 6th place with 19.250 points, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation announced.
In the mixed pairs event, Daria Mihaiu and Darius Branda claimed the third spot on the podium with a score of 19.550, trailing behind representatives from Bulgaria (19.950) and Italy 2 (19.750). Sandra Dincă and Daniel Țavoc finished in 4th place with 19.500.
In the aerobic dance final, the Romanian team of Sandra Dincă, Larisa Şuiu, Claudia Ristea, Daria Mihaiu, David Gavrilovici, Mădălin Boldea, Vlăduț Popa, and Antonio Surdu won the silver medal with a score of 17.800, surpassed by Hungary with 17.900. Italy secured the third place with a score of 17.550.
Leonard Manta finished fourth in the men's individual final with 20.150 points, tied with the 2021 world champion, Spaniard Miquel Mane, who won the bronze due to a higher execution score. The top two spots were claimed by Italians Davide Nacci (20.900) and Francesco Sebastio (20.750). Daniel Țavoc finished sixth with 19.800.
In the junior category, the Romanian team earned three gold medals, in addition to the team's phase of the competition. Raisa Alexe, Emma Rotaru, and Melissa Fărcuţa (Romania 2) won gold in the trio event with a score of 18.700, followed by Spain 2 (18.700) and Turkey 2 (18.450). Gold was also secured by Alexandra Andrei, Raisa Alexe, Emma Rotaru, Melissa Fărcuţa, Maria Vrâncianu Panciu in the group event with a score of 18.500, followed by Finland (18.200) and France (18.150).
In the aerobic dance final, Alexandra Voicu, Maria Vrâncianu Panciu, Isabel Colioglu, Maria Dragomir, Melissa Fărcuţa, Bianca Cîmpan, Jasmina Balogh, Alexandra Andrei emerged victorious with a score of 17.450, beating Hungary (17.400) and Italy (17.000), G4media.ro reported. In the individual female event, Raisa Alexe finished fifth with a score of 18.450, while Alexandru Berbece placed 8th in the individual male event with a score of 18.300.
In mixed pairs, Daniel Anton and Alexandra Voicu (Romania 2) secured the 4th place with a score of 18.650, while Alexandra Andrei and Alexandru Berbece (Romania 1) finished 7th with 18.050.
At the previous edition of the European Championships in Pesaro, 2021, the Romanian delegation won 11 medals (2 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze). Ten of the gymnasts who won medals two years ago also competed in Turkey (Mădălin Boldea, Darius Branda, Sandra Dincă, David Gavrilovici, Leonard Manta, Daria Mihaiu, Vlăduț Popa, Claudia Ristea, Larisa Şuiu, and Daniel Țavoc).
(Photo source: Federatia Romana de Gimnastica on Facebook)
