Romanian athletes claim gold, bronze medals at Paraclimbing World Cup in Salt Lake City

Visually impaired athletes took Romania to the podium at the Paraclimbing World Cup held in Salt Lake City, the US, on May 16-17. They return home with one gold and two bronze medals, marking an exceptional season start for the national paraclimbing team.

Five athletes represented Romania at the competition, namely Răzvan Nedu (captain of the national paraclimbing team), Ionela Grecu, Cosmin Candoi, Liviu Matei, and Daniel Andrei.

Cosmin Candoi claimed the gold medal in the B3 category for visually impaired athletes. “The World Cup in Salt Lake City is a source of pride both for me and for Romania. I was glad to hear the Romanian anthem again in the US,” he said.

Ionela Grecu (B3 category) participated for the first time at the World Cup in Salt Lake City and brought home the bronze medal. The other bronze was claimed by Răzvan Nedu in the B1 category.

Liviu Matei competed in the RP3 category (dedicated to athletes with neurological or physiological impairments) and was one step away from qualifying for the final, while Daniel Andrei (category B2) marked his first participation at an international paraclimbing competition.

Claudiu Miu, coach and founder of the Climb Again Association, said: “We’re thrilled that increasingly more children and young people with special needs become real athletes, they end up changing their status from people with disabilities to world-class medal athletes and even champions, just as is the case with our young people who started sports therapy at Climb Again and today climb the international podiums of paraclimbing.”

The Climb Again Association, the coordinator of the Romanian paraclimbing team, is a non-governmental organization affiliated with the Romanian Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (FRAE), founded and led by Claudiu Miu, former Balkan climbing champion. Since 2014, it has been organizing free sessions of climbing therapy, physical therapy and psychological counselling for children and young people with disabilities.

(Photo source: Climb Again Association)