Born in Amara, Romania, Chidu came to prominence in 1988 when she won the 800 m Romanian Championships in 1988 with a time of 1:57.80 minutes. Her best time that year was 1:57.64, which ranked her 14th globally for the season. On her international debut she was the fastest non-qualifier in the 800 m heats at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships, coming third in her race and seventh overall. A double continental appearance came the following year and she placed fifth at the 1990 European Athletics Indoor Championships and sixth at the 1990 European Athletics Championships. Her season's best of 1:59.09 minutes set at the latter competition ranked her in the top-20 800 m athletes for that year.