Sport şi Societate (Dec 2017)
ROMANIA AND THE ROMANIAN ATHLETES AT THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
Abstract
The Olympic Games represent the concrete manifestation of the Olympism ideology, but also the greatest sports event in the world. The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of Romania in The Summer Olympic Games. We also wish to highlight the most productive or effective period of the Romanian sport in these games, which event earned the most medals and what athlete has the best record. Of the 28 editions of the modern Olympic Games organized from 1896 to the present day, Romania participated to 20, which accounts for 71.43% attendance percentage. The only edition where the Romanian athletes failed to gain any medals was the 1928 Olympic Games of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).Overall, Romania has managed to obtain 301 medals in The Summer Olympic Games, of which 89 gold medals, 95 silver medals and 122 bronze medals. The most productive period recorded by Romania in The Summer Olympic Games was between 1972 and 1988, when our country obtained half of the medals obtained throughout all the Olympic Games combined, namely in five editions of the aforementioned event, 145 medals were gained, accounting for 47.38%. Gymnastics is the sports branch with the most medals in The Summer Olympic Games, 72 medals, almost a quarter of the entire number of medals, (23.92%). Gymnastics has also provided the best Romanian athlete, Nadia COMĂNECI, who earned nine medals for Romania.
