List of flag bearers for Romania at the Olympics
Table:
#
Event year
Season
Flag bearer
Sport

32
2016
Summer
Cătălina Ponor
Artistic gymnastics

31
2014
Winter
Éva Tófalvi
Biathlon

30
2012
Summer
Horia Tecău
Tennis

29
2010
Winter
Éva Tófalvi
Biathlon

28
2008
Summer
Valeria Motogna-Beșe
Handball

27
2006
Winter
Gheorghe Chiper
Figure skating

26
2004
Summer
Elisabeta Lipă
Rowing

25
2002
Winter
Éva Tófalvi
Biathlon

24
2000
Summer
Elisabeta Lipă
Rowing

23
1998
Winter
Mihaela Dascălu
Speed skating

22
1996
Summer
Iulică Ruican
Rowing

21
1994
Winter
Ioan Apostol
Luge

20
1992
Summer
Costel Grasu
Athletics

19
1992
Winter
Ioan Apostol
Luge

18
1988
Summer
Vasile Andrei
Wrestling

17
1988
Winter
Dorin Degan

16
1984
Summer
Corneliu Ion
Shooting sport

15
1984
Winter
Dorel Cristudor

14
1980
Summer
Vasile Andrei
Wrestling

13
1980
Winter
Gheorghe Lixandru

Considering the given table and the supplementary paragraphs listed below.

Give the answer to the question: What was the city of the Olympics in which Cătălina Ponor was flag bearer for Romania ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

The 2016 Summer Olympics ( Portuguese : Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016 ) , [ a ] officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( Portuguese : Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada ) and commonly known as Rio 2016 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August . These were the first Olympic Games ever to be held in South America and the fourth to be held in a developing country , after the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico , the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union , and the 2008 Summer Olympics in China . More than 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees took part , including first time entrants Kosovo , South Sudan , and the Refugee Olympic Team . With 306 sets of medals , the games featured 28 Olympic sports , including rugby sevens and golf , which were added to the Olympic program in 2009 . These sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city and at five separate venues in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo , Belo Horizonte , Salvador , Brasília , and Manaus . These were the first Summer Olympic Games to take place under the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) presidency of Thomas Bach . The host city Rio de Janeiro was announced at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen , Denmark , on 2 October 2009 . Rio became the first South American city ever to host the Olympic Games . These were the first games to be held in a Portuguese-speaking country , the first summer edition to be held entirely in the host country 's winter season , the first since 1968 to be held in Latin America , and the first since 2000 to be held in the Southern Hemisphere . The United States topped the medal table , winning the most gold and overall medals , 46 and 121 , as well as its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal overall . Great Britain finished second and became only the second country in modern Olympic history to increase its tally of medals in the Olympiad immediately after it had been host nation . China finished third .
Cătălina Ponor ( Romanian pronunciation : [ kətəˈlina poˈnor ] ; born 20 August 1987 ) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast who competed at three Olympiads : 2004 , 2012 , and 2016 . She won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens on balance beam , floor and as part of the Romanian team . She also earned a silver medal on floor and bronze medal as part of the Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London , as well as multiple World Championship and European Championship medals . She announced her plans to retire from gymnastics after the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships , in Montreal . During her career , she won 23 Olympic , World and European medals . More than half of them ( 12 ) were gold medals .
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines ( ranging from about 30 to 90 seconds ) on different apparatuses , with less time for vaulting . The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique ( FIG ) , which designs the code of points and regulates all aspects of international elite competition . Within individual countries , gymnastics is regulated by national federations , such as Gymnastics Canada , British Gymnastics , and USA Gymnastics . Artistic gymnastics is a popular spectator sport at many competitions , including the Summer Olympic Games .
The 2014 Winter Olympics , officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( Russian : XXII Олимпийские зимние игры , tr . XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry ) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi , Krasnodar Krai , Russia , with opening rounds in certain events held on the eve of the opening ceremony , 6 February 2014 . Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics were organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee ( SOOC ) . Sochi was selected as the host city in July 2007 , during the 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala City . It was the first Olympics to be held in a CIS state since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 . The Soviet Union was previously the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . These were the first Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) presidency of Thomas Bach . A record 98 events in fifteen winter sport disciplines were held during the Games . A number of new competitions - a total of twelve accounting for gender - were held during the Games , including biathlon mixed relay , women 's ski jumping , mixed-team figure skating , mixed-team luge , half-pipe skiing , ski and snowboard slopestyle , and snowboard parallel slalom . The events were held around two clusters of new venues : an Olympic Park constructed in Sochi 's Imeretinsky Valley on the coast of the Black Sea , with Fisht Olympic Stadium , and the Games ' indoor venues located within walking distance , and snow events in the resort settlement of Krasnaya Polyana . The 2014 Winter Olympics were the most expensive Games in the history of the Olympics . While originally budgeted at US $ 12 billion , major cost overruns , caused this figure to expand to US $ 51 billion , more than three times the cost of the 2012 London Olympics and even surpassing the estimated $ 44 billion cost of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing .
Éva Tófalvi ( born December 4 , 1978 ) is a retired Romanian biathlete of Hungarian ethnicity .
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting . It is treated as a race where the contestant with the shortest total time wins . Depending on the competition , missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant 's total .
The 2012 Summer Olympics , formally the Games of the XXX Olympiad and commonly known as London 2012 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London , United Kingdom . The first event , the group stage in women 's football , began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff , followed by the opening ceremony on 27 July . 10,768 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) participated . Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone , London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore , defeating bids from Moscow , New York City , Madrid , and Paris . London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times , having previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and in 1948 . Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment , with an emphasis on sustainability . The main focus was a new 200-hectare ( 490-acre ) Olympic Park , constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford , East London . The Games also made use of venues that already existed before the bid . The Games received general praise for their organisation , with the volunteers , the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly . The opening ceremony , directed by Danny Boyle , received widespread acclaim throughout the world , particular praise from the British public and a minority of widely ranging criticisms from some social media sites . During the Games , Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time , winning his 22nd medal . Saudi Arabia , Qatar , and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time , so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games .
Horia Tecău ( Romanian pronunciation : [ ˈhori.a teˈkəw ] ; born January 19 , 1985 ) is a Romanian tennis player currently ranked World No . 11 in doubles . He turned pro in 2003 and reached the men 's doubles finals of the 2010 , 2011 and 2012 Wimbledon Championships with Robert Lindstedt before winning it in 2015 with Jean-Julien Rojer , with whom he also won the 2017 US Open . Tecău also won the 2012 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and the 2015 ATP World Tour Finals with Rojer .
Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent ( singles ) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles ) . Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent 's court . The object of the game is to maneuver the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return . The player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point , while the opposite player will . Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages . The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket , including wheelchair users . The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham , England , in the late 19th century as lawn tennis . It had close connections both to various field ( lawn ) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis . During most of the 19th century , in fact , the term tennis referred to real tennis , not lawn tennis . The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s . Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times , and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s . A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system , which allows a player to contest the line call of a point , a system known as Hawk-Eye .
The 2010 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) and commonly known as Vancouver 2010 , informally the 21st Winter Olympics , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 12 to 28 February 2010 in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada , with some events held in the surrounding suburbs of Richmond , West Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands , and in the nearby resort town of Whistler . Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines . Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee ( VANOC ) , headed by John Furlong . The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada and the first by the province of British Columbia . Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , Quebec , and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary , Alberta . Metro Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area to host the Winter Olympics , although Calgary is the largest city to host the Winter Olympics . They will both be surpassed by Beijing in 2022 . Following Olympic tradition , the incumbent mayor of Vancouver Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . The flag was raised on February 28 , 2006 , in a special ceremony and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony . The event was officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean , who was accompanied by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge . For the first time , Canada won gold in an official sport at an Olympic Games hosted at home , having failed to do so at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary ( although Canada won the woman 's curling event in Calgary when it was still only a demonstration sport ) . Canada clinched their first gold medal on the second day of the competition and first topped the gold medal tally on the second to last day of competition and went on to become the first host nation since Norway in 1952 to lead the gold medal count .
The 2008 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad ( Chinese : 第二十九届夏季奥林匹克运动会 ; pinyin : Dì Èrshíjiǔ Jiè Xiàjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì ) and commonly known as Beijing 2008 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 8 to 24 August 2008 in Beijing , China . [ b ] A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) competed in 28 sports and 302 events ( one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics ) . This was the first time that China had hosted the Summer Olympics , but the third time that the Games had been held in East Asia , following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo , Japan , and the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics . These were the second summer Olympic Games staged in a Communist country , after the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics and the third in a developing country after the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union and the first overall Olympics to be hosted by a Communist state since the former Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo . Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001 , having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) after two rounds of voting . The Government of the People 's Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transport systems . A total of 37 venues were used to host the events , including twelve constructed specifically for the 2008 Olympics . The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong , making this the third Olympics for which the events were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs . [ c ] The sailing events were contested in Qingdao , while the football events took place across several different cities . The official logo for the 2008 Games , titled Dancing Beijing , featured a stylised calligraphic character jīng ( 京 , means capital ) in reference to the host city . The Beijing Olympics was watched by 3,500,000,000 people worldwide and featured the longest distance for an Olympic Torch relay . The event sets numerous world and Olympics records in the history of sports , and is also the most expensive Summer Olympics of all time and second-most expensive overall , after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi .
Aurica Valeria Motogna-Beşe ( born 16 December 1979 in Bistriţa , Romania ) is a retired Romanian handball player who played mainly as a defender for the Romania women 's national handball team . She carried the flag during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing .
Handball ( also known as team handball , European handball or Olympic handball ) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each ( six outcourt players and a goalkeeper ) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the other team . A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes , and the team that scores more goals wins . Modern handball is played on a court of 40 by 20 metres ( 131 by 66 ft ) , with a goal in the middle of each end . The goals are surrounded by a 6-meter ( 20 ft ) zone where only the defending goalkeeper is allowed ; goals must be scored by throwing the ball from outside the zone or while diving into it . The sport is usually played indoors , but outdoor variants exist in the forms of field handball , Czech handball ( which were more common in the past ) and beach handball . The game is fast and high-scoring : professional teams now typically score between 20 and 35 goals each , though lower scores were not uncommon until a few decades ago . Some players may score hat tricks . Body contact is permitted : the defenders trying to stop the attackers from approaching the goal . No protective equipment is mandated , but players may wear soft protective bands , pads and mouth guards . The game was codified at the end of the 19th century in Denmark . The modern set of rules was published in 1917 in Germany , and had several revisions since . The first international games were played under these rules for men in 1925 and for women in 1930 .
The 2006 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games ( Italian : XX Giochi olimpici invernali ) and commonly known as Turin 2006 or Torino 2006 , was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin , Piedmont , Italy from February 10 to 26 , 2006 . This marked the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games , the first being the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo . Italy also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome . Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 Games in June 1999 . The official motto of the XX Olympic Winter Games was Passion lives here . The official logo depicts a stylized profile of the Mole Antonelliana building , drawn in white and blue ice crystals , signifying the snow and the sky . The crystal web was also meant to portray the web of new technologies and the Olympic spirit of community . The Olympic mascots of the Games were Neve ( snow in Italian ) , a female snowball , and Gliz , a male ice cube . Italy will host the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 20 years after these games .
Gheorghe Chiper ( born 8 April 1978 ) is a Romanian former competitive figure skater . He is an eight-time Romanian national champion and competed at two Olympic Games . He is the first Romanian skater to win a medal on the Grand Prix circuit and the first Romanian to land a quadruple toe loop in competition .
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals , duos , or groups perform on figure skates on ice . It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games , when it was contested at the 1908 Olympics in London . The four Olympic disciplines are men 's singles , ladies ' singles , pair skating , and ice dance . Non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating , Theater on Ice , and four skating . From intermediate through senior-level competition , skaters generally perform two programs ( short and free skate ) , which may include spins , jumps , moves in the field , lifts , throw jumps , death spirals , and other elements or moves , depending on the discipline . The blade has a groove on the bottom creating two distinct edges : inside and outside . Judges prefer that skaters glide on one edge of the blade and not on both at the same time , which is referred to as a flat edge . During a spin , skaters use the sweet spot of the blade , formally called a rocker , which is the roundest portion of the blade , just behind the toe pick and near the middle of the blade . Skates used in singles and pair skating have a set of large , jagged teeth called toe picks on the front of the blade . Toe picks are mainly used for the take-off on jumps . Ice dance blades have smaller toe picks . Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level ( senior ) at local , regional , sectional , national , and international competitions .
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( Greek : Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004 , Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 2004 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad and commonly known as Athens 2004 , was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens , Greece , from 13 to 29 August 2004 with the motto Welcome Home . The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete , some 600 more than expected , accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries . There were 301 medal events in 28 different sports . Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance . 2004 also marked the return of the Olympic Games to the city where they began . Having previously hosted the Olympics in 1896 , Athens became one of only four cities to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games on two separate occasions at the time ( together with Paris , London , and Los Angeles ) . A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games , replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since the 1928 Games . This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue . The new design features the Panathenaic Stadium . The 2004 Summer Games were hailed as unforgettable , dream games by IOC President Jacques Rogge , and left Athens with a significantly improved infrastructure , including a new airport , ring road , and subway system . There have been arguments ( mostly in popular media ) regarding the cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and their possible contribution to the 2010-2018 Greek government-debt crisis , however , there is little or no evidence for such a correlation . The 2004 Olympics were generally deemed to be a success , with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world .
Elisabeta Lipă ( Romanian pronunciation : [ elisaˈbeta ˈlipə ] ; née Oleniuc on 26 October 1964 ) is a retired rower and government official from Romania . She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics , winning five gold , two silver and one bronze medals . She holds the record amongst rowers for the most years between gold medals , at 20 years . Since 2004 , Lipă has served in various government positions including Minister of Youth and Sport in the current cabinet under Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș . Since 2009 , she has also served as the President of the Romanian Rowing Federation and the Dinamo București Sports Club .
Rowing , sometimes referred to as crew in the United States , is a sport whose origins reach back to Ancient Egyptian times . It involves propelling a boat ( racing shell ) on water using oars . By pushing against the water with an oar , a force is generated to move the boat . The sport can be either recreational for enjoyment or fitness , or competitive , when athletes race against each other in boats . There are a number of different boat classes in which athletes compete , ranging from an individual shell ( called a single scull ) to an eight-person shell with a coxswain ( called a coxed eight ) . Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 17th century when races ( regattas ) were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London , United Kingdom . Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies . Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of boat clubs at the British public schools of Eton College , Shrewsbury School , Durham School , and Westminster School . Similarly , clubs were formed at the University of Oxford , with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815 . At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827 . Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time ; in England Leander Club was founded in 1818 , in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839 . In 1843 , the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University .
The 2002 Winter Olympics , officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 , was a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 8 to 24 February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City , Utah , United States . 2,399 athletes from 78 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines , held throughout 165 sporting sessions . The 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Paralympic Games were both organized by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee ( SLOC ) , the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history that both events were organized by a single committee . Utah became the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games , after Missouri , New York , California , and Georgia . These were the first Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Jacques Rogge . The opening ceremony was held on February 8 , 2002 , and sporting competitions were held up until the closing ceremony on February 24 , 2002 . Production for both ceremonies was designed by Seven Nielsen , and music for both ceremonies was directed by Mark Watters . Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics , although the two subsequent host cities ' populations were larger . Following a trend , the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were also larger than all prior Winter Games , with 10 more events than the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan . Norway won the most gold medals while Germany won the most number of medals . The Salt Lake Games faced a bribery scandal and some local opposition during the bid . Nevertheless , from sporting and business standpoints , this was one of the most successful Winter Olympiads in history ; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs .
The 2000 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and commonly known as Sydney 2000 or the Millennium Olympic Games/Games of the New Millennium , was an international multi-sport event held between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . It was the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia , and also the Southern Hemisphere , the first being in Melbourne , Victoria , in 1956 .
The 1998 Winter Olympics , officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( Japanese : 第十八回オリンピック冬季競技大会 , Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai ) , and commonly known as Nagano 1998 , was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 that were centered in Nagano , Japan . The Games also took place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba , Karuizawa , Nozawa Onsen , and Yamanouuchi . The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics ( which were later cancelled ) , as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics , but each time Nagano was eliminated at the national level by Sapporo . The games hosted 2,176 athletes from 72 nations competing in 7 sports and 68 events . The number of athletes and participating nations were a record at the time . The Games saw the introduction of women 's ice hockey , curling and snowboarding . National Hockey League players were allowed to participate in the men 's ice hockey for the first time . Five countries , Azerbaijan , Kenya , Macedonia , Uruguay , and Venezuela made their debut at the Winter Olympics . The athlete who won the most medals at these games was the Russian cross-country skier Larisa Lazutina who won five medals , including three gold . The Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie won four medals , including three gold , which took his total Olympic medal total to 12 , including eight gold , which is a record for Winter Olympics . In ice hockey , professionals from the North American National Hockey League participated for the first time . Despite their participation , the Czech men 's ice hockey team won the gold medal .
Mihaela Dascălu ( born 12 February 1970 ) is a retired Romanian speed skater , and the most successful speed skater from that country . Dascălu was born in the city of Braşov , and first trained as a figure skater before changing to speed skating . She debuted at the 1987 World Junior Championships , where she finished seventh . The following year she finished ninth , but was later disqualified along with her teammate Cerasela Hordobetiu , making it impossible for her to make the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary . She returned to the international scene in 1991 , and finished sixth in the 1000 meter during the 1992 Winter Olympics , the best Romanian Olympic speed skating finish of all time . In the 1994 World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Butte , Montana she won a bronze medal . In the 1994 Winter Olympics she finished eighth in two events , the 1500 meter and the 3000 meter . She continued to compete through the 1990s , with numerous top ten finishes , such as a seventh-place finish in the Women 's European Championships in 1996 , and sixth the following year in the same competition . She finished third in 3000 meter at the 6th World Cup 1995-1996 and the World Cup Final 1995-1996 , with her also finishing third in the latter in the 1500 meter . She had second-place finishes in the 3000 meter during the 9th World Cup 1995-1996 and the World Cup Final 1996-1997 . She also finished second in 1000 meter during the 7th World Cup 1995-1996 , as well as second in the 1500 meter during the 7th World Cup 1996-1997 . At the 4th World Cup 1996-1997 she finished third in the 5000 meter , followed by a first-place finish the following year in that same event during the 7th World Cup 1996-1997 .
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates . Types of speed skating are long track speed skating , short track speed skating , and marathon speed skating . In the Olympic Games , long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just speed skating , while short-track speed skating is known as short track . The ISU , the governing body of both ice sports , refers to long track as speed skating and short track as short track skating . An international federation was founded in 1892 , the first for any winter sport . The sport enjoys large popularity in the Netherlands , Norway and South Korea . There are top international rinks in a number of other countries , including Canada , the United States , Germany , Italy , Japan , Russia , Kazakhstan , China , Belarus and Poland . A World Cup circuit is held with events in those countries plus two events in the Thialf ice hall in Heerenveen , Netherlands .
The 1996 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad , commonly known as Atlanta 1996 , and also referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event that was held from July 19 to August 4 , 1996 , in Atlanta , Georgia , U.S . These Games , which were the fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States , marked the centennial of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens - the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games . They were also the first since 1924 to be held in a different year from a Winter Olympics , under a new IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating , even-numbered years . More than 10,000 athletes from 197 National Olympic Committees competed in 26 sports , including the Olympic debuts of beach volleyball , mountain biking , and softball , as well as the new disciplines of lightweight rowing and women 's football ( soccer ) . 24 countries made their Summer Olympic debut in Atlanta , including eleven former Soviet republics participating for the first time as independent nations . The hosting United States led the medal count with a total of 101 medals , and the most gold ( 44 ) and silver ( 32 ) medals out of all countries . The U.S. topped the medal count for the first time since 1984 , and for the first time since 1968 in a non-boycotted Summer Olympics . Notable performances during competition included those of Andre Agassi - who became the first men 's singles tennis player to combine a career Grand Slam with an Olympic gold medal , Donovan Bailey - who set a new world record of 9.84 for the men 's 100 meters , and Lilia Podkopayeva - who became the second gymnast to win an individual event gold after winning the all-round title in the same Olympics . The festivities were marred by violence on July 27 , when Eric Rudolph detonated pipe bombs at Centennial Olympic Park - a downtown park that was built to serve as a public focal point for the Games ' festivities , killing 1 and injuring 111 . In 2003 , Rudolph confessed to the bombing and a series of related attacks on abortion centers and a gay bar , and was sentenced to life in prison . He claimed that the bombing was meant to protest the U.S. government 's sanctioning of abortion on demand . The Games turned a profit , helped by record revenue from sponsorship deals and broadcast rights , and reliance on private funding ( as opposed to the extensive public funding used on later Olympics ) , among other factors .
Iulică Ruican ( born 29 August 1971 ) is a retired Romanian rower . He competed in coxed fours and eights at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in 1992 . At the 1996 Olympics he served as a flag bearer for Romania at the opening ceremony . At the world championships he won seven medals between 1993 and 1998 , including three gold medals . Ruican took up rowing aged 16 , and after retiring from competitions became vice president of his native club CSA Steaua București . His wife Anca Tănase is also a former Olympic rower .
The 1994 Winter Olympics ( Norwegian : Olympiske vinterleker 1994 ) , officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games , was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer , Norway . Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event , losing to Albertville . Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Olympics in 1988 , after beating Anchorage , United States ; Östersund , Sweden ; and Sofia , Bulgaria . Lillehammer is the northernmost city to ever host the Winter Games and the Olympic Games overall . The Games were the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics , the first and only one to be held two years after the previous winter games . The Games were the second Winter Olympics hosted in Norway , after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo , and the fourth Olympics in the Nordic countries , after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm , Sweden , and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki , Finland . Although many events took place in Lillehammer , skating took place in Hamar , some ice hockey matches were placed in Gjøvik , while Alpine skiing was held in Øyer and Ringebu . Sixty-seven countries and 1,737 athletes participated in six sports and sixty-one events . Fourteen countries made their debut in the Winter Olympics , of which nine were former Soviet republics . The Games also saw the introduction of stricter qualifying rules , reducing the number of under-performing participants from warm-weather countries . New events were two new distances in short track speed skating and aerials , while speed skating was moved indoors . Nearly two million people spectated the games , which were the first to have the Olympic truce in effect .
Ioan Apostol ( born January 14 , 1959 ) is a Romanian luger who competed in four Winter Olympics . He was born in Valea Doftanei , Prahova County . He earned his best finish of fourth in the men 's doubles event at Albertville in 1992 . Since 2002 , Apostol has been the director of development for small nations for the International Luge Federation ( FIL ) .
A luge /luːʒ/ is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine ( face up ) and feet-first . A luger steers by using their calf muscles to flex the sled 's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat . Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kg ( 46-55 lb ) for singles and 25-30 kg ( 55-66 lb ) for doubles . Luge is also the name of an Olympic sport . Lugers can reach speeds of 140 km/h ( 87 mph ) . Austrian Manuel Pfister reached a top speed of 154 km/h ( 96 mph ) on a track in Whistler , Canada , prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics . Lugers compete against a timer in one of the most precisely timed sports in the world - to one one-thousandth of a second on artificial tracks . The first recorded use of the term luge dates to 1905 and derives from the Savoy/Swiss dialect of the French word luge , meaning small coasting sled .
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( Spanish : Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992 , Catalan : Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event held in Barcelona , Spain from 25 July to 9 August 1992 . Beginning in 1994 , the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years . The 1992 Summer Olympics was the last occasion for the Summer and Winter Olympics to be staged in the same year . This Olympiad was the first since the end of the Cold War , and was unaffected by boycotts for the first time since the 1972 Olympiad . The Unified Team topped the medal table , winning 45 gold and 112 overall medals .
Costel Grasu ( born 5 June 1967 in Feteşti , Ialomiţa ) is a Romanian discus thrower . He is perhaps best known for finishing fourth at the 1992 Summer Olympics . He also competed at the Olympics in 1996 and 2000 , without reaching the final . Other achievements include gold medals at the Jeux de la Francophonie in 1994 and 1997 as well as gold medals at the Balkan Games in 1992 and 1997 . His personal best throw is 67.08 metres , achieved in Snagov in May 1992 . Costel Grasu is married to Nicoleta Grasu , née Grădinaru .
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running , jumping , throwing , and walking . The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field , road running , cross country running , and race walking . The results of racing events are decided by finishing position ( or time , where measured ) , while the jumps and throws are won by the athlete that achieves the highest or furthest measurement from a series of attempts . The simplicity of the competitions , and the lack of a need for expensive equipment , makes athletics one of the most common types of sports in the world . Athletics is mostly an individual sport , with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes ' performances for a team score , such as cross country . Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC . The rules and format of the modern events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century , and were then spread to other parts of the world . Most modern top level meetings are held under the auspices of World Athletics , the global governing body for the sport of athletics , or its member continental and national federations . The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the Summer Olympics . The foremost international athletics meeting is the World Athletics Championships , which incorporates track and field , marathon running and race walking . Other top level competitions in athletics include the World Athletics Cross Country Championships and the World Half Marathon Championships . Athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the World Para Athletics Championships .
The 1992 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville , France . They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics , and the first where the Winter Paralympics were held at the same site . Albertville was selected as host in 1986 , beating Sofia , Falun , Lillehammer , Cortina d'Ampezzo , Anchorage and Berchtesgaden . The games were the third Winter Olympics held in France , after Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968 , and the fifth Olympics overall in the country . Only some of the skating and the opening and closing ceremonies took place in Albertville , while the rest of the events took place in the villages of Courchevel , La Plagne , Les Arcs , Les Menuires , Les Saisies , Méribel , Pralognan-la-Vanoise , Tignes and Val d'Isère . Sixty-four nations with 1,801 athletes participated in the games , including the Unified Team which represented non-Baltic former Soviet republics . Germany participated as a unified team following reunification in 1990 , while five newly independent European countries debuted , as did six warm-weather countries . Short track speed skating , moguls and women 's biathlon made their debut as an Olympic sport . The games were the last Winter Games until 2014 to have demonstration sports , consisting of curling , aerials , ski ballet and speed skiing . It was the last Olympics to have an outdoor speed skating rink . The games were succeeded by the 1992 Winter Paralympics from 25 March to 1 April . Norwegians won every male cross-country skiing race , with Bjørn Dæhlie and Vegard Ulvang both collecting three gold .
The 1988 Summer Olympics ( Korean : 서울 하계 올림픽 ; RR : Seoul Hagye Ollimpik [ sʌ.ul ɦaɡje olːimpʰik ] ) , officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event celebrated from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul , South Korea . In the Seoul Games , 159 nations were represented by a total of 8,391 athletes : 6,197 men and 2,194 women . 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics . 11,331 media ( 4,978 written press and 6,353 broadcasters ) showed the Games all over the world . These were the last Olympic Games for the Soviet Union and East Germany , as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games . The Soviets utterly dominated the medal table , winning 55 gold and 132 total medals . No country came close to this result after 1988 . The games were boycotted by North Korea and its ally , Cuba . Ethiopia , Albania and the Seychelles did not respond to the invitations sent by the IOC . Nicaragua did not participate due to athletic and financial considerations . The participation of Madagascar had been expected , and their team was expected at the opening ceremony of 160 nations . However , the country withdrew because of financial reasons .
Vasile Andrei ( born 28 July 1955 ) is a retired heavyweight wrestler from Romania . He competed in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1980 , 1984 and 1988 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1980 and a gold medal in 1984 . At the 1984 Olympics he also placed sixth in freestyle wrestling , and in 1980 and 1988 served as flag bearer for Romania at the opening ceremony . At the world and European championships he won six medals in Greco-Roman wrestling between 1979 and 1987 . Andrei took up wrestling at Progresul Bucuresti coached by Dumitru Pârvulescu and later moved to Steaua Bucureşti . After retiring from competitions he worked as a wrestling coach , and in 2000 trained the Tunisian national team .
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling . [ citation needed ] There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games : freestyle and Greco-Roman . Both styles are under the supervision of United World Wrestling ( UWW ; formerly known as FILA , from the French acronym for International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles ) . A similar style , commonly called collegiate ( also known as scholastic or folkstyle ) , is practiced in colleges and universities , secondary schools , middle schools , and among younger age groups in the United States . Where the style is not specified , this article refers to the international styles of competition on a mat . In February 2013 , the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) voted to remove the sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics onwards . On 8 September 2013 , the IOC announced that wrestling would return to the Summer Olympics in 2020 . The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat sport mixed martial arts ( MMA ) has increased interest in amateur wrestling due to its effectiveness in the sport and it is considered a core discipline .
The 1988 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , was a multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary , Alberta , Canada , between February 13 and 28 , 1988 and were the first Winter Olympics to be held over a whole two week period . The host city was selected in 1981 over Falun , Sweden , and Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy . Most events took place in Calgary while several skiing events were held in the mountain resorts of Nakiska and Canmore , west of the city . A then-record 57 nations competed and 1,423 athletes participated . As it had in Montreal in 1976 , Canada again failed to win a gold medal in an official medal event as the host nation . Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen and Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip were individual medal leaders with each winning three gold medals . The games are also remembered for the heroic failure of British ski jumper Eddie The Eagle Edwards , and the Winter Olympic début of the Jamaica national bobsled team , both of which would be subjects of major feature films about their participation in the games . The Calgary games were at the time one of the most expensive Olympics ever held , but the organizing committee turned record television and sponsorship revenue into a net surplus that was used to maintain the facilities built for the Olympics and develop the Calgary region into the heart of Canada 's elite winter sports program . The five purpose-built venues continue to be used in their original functions , and have helped the country develop into one of the top nations in Winter Olympic competition ; Canada more than quintupled the five medals it won in Calgary at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics .
Dorin Degan ( born 11 July 1959 ) is a Romanian bobsledder . He competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics and the 1988 Winter Olympics .
The 1984 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event that was held from July 28 to August 12 , 1984 , in Los Angeles , California , United States ( and other venues around the United States ) . This was the second time that Los Angeles had hosted the Games , the first being in 1932 . California was the home state of then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan , who officially opened the Games . The logo for the 1984 Games , branded Stars in Motion , featured red , white and blue stars arranged horizontally and struck through with alternating streaks . The official mascot of the Games was Sam the Olympic Eagle . These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch . The 1984 Games were boycotted by a total of fourteen Eastern Bloc countries , including the Soviet Union and East Germany , in response to the American-led boycott of the previous 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan ; Romania was the only Eastern Bloc nation that opted to attend the Games . Iran and Libya also chose to boycott the Games for unrelated reasons . Despite the field being depleted in certain sports due to the boycott , 140 National Olympic Committees took part , which was a record at the time . The United States won the most gold and overall medals , followed by Romania and West Germany . The 1984 Summer Olympics are widely considered to be the most financially successful modern Olympics and served as an example of how to run the model Olympic Games . As a result of low construction costs , coupled with a reliance on private corporate funding , the 1984 Olympic Games generated a profit of more than $ 250 million .
Corneliu Ion ( born 27 June 1951 ) is a retired Romanian shooter who specialized in the 25 meter rapid fire pistol event . He competed at the 1976 , 1980 , 1984 and 1988 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1980 and a silver in 1984 , placing fifth in 1976 . In 1984 he served as the flag bearer for Romania at the opening ceremony . In 1975 he set a team world record at 2370 points and in 1977 equaled the individual world record at 598 points . Ion graduated from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies and from the International School of Shooting Trainers in Wiesbaden in 1989 . He took up shooting in 1969 at CSA Steaua București and later worked as a coach there for 12 years , becoming head of the shooting section in 1989 . His trainees include Iulian Raicea and Sorin Babii . In parallel , between 1990 and 2001 he served as president of the Romanian Shooting Federation . He was also a member of the Romanian Olympic Committee .
Shooting sports is a collective group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy , precision and speed in shooting - the art of using various types of ranged weapons , mainly referring to human-portable guns ( firearms and airguns , in forms such as handguns , rifles and shotguns ) and bows/crossbows . Different disciplines of shooting sports can be categorized by equipment , shooting distances , targets , time limits and degrees of athleticism involved . Shooting sports may involve both team and individual competition , and team performance is usually assessed by summing the scores of the individual team members . Due to the noise of shooting and the high ( and often lethal ) impact energy of the projectiles , shooting sports are typically conducted at either designated permanent shooting ranges or temporary shooting fields in the area away from settlements .
The 1984 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( French : XIVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ; Serbo-Croatian : XIV . zimske olimpijske igre / XIV Зимске олимпијске игре ; Macedonian : XIV Зимски олимписки игри ; Slovene : XIV olimpijske zimske igre ) , was a winter multi-sport event which took place from 8-19 February 1984 in Sarajevo , Yugoslavia , in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina . Other candidate cities were Sapporo , Japan ; and Gothenburg , Sweden . It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a socialist state and in a Slavic language-speaking country . It was also the second Olympics overall , as well as the second consecutive Olympics , to be held in a socialist and in a Slavic language-speaking country after the 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow , Soviet Union . Furthermore , it was the first Olympics held in the Balkans after the first modern Games in Athens . The Sarajevo games have also been the only Olympics so far to be hosted by a Non-Aligned Movement member .
Dorel Cristudor ( born 11 April 1954 ) is a former Romanian sprinter turned bobsledder . He competed in the four man event at the 1980 Winter Olympics .
The 1980 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad ( Russian : И́гры XXII Олимпиа́ды , tr . Igry XXII Olimpiady ) , was an international multi-sport event held in Moscow , Soviet Union , in present-day Russia . The 1980 Games were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Eastern Europe , and remain the only Summer Olympics held there , as well as the first Olympic Games to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country . They were also the only Olympic Games to be held in a communist country until 2008 in China . These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris , 3rd Baron Killanin . Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games - the smallest number since 1956 . Led by the United States , 66 countries boycotted the games entirely because of the Soviet-Afghan War . Some athletes from some of the boycotting countries ( they are not included in the list of 66 countries that boycotted the games entirely ) participated in the games under the Olympic Flag . The Soviet Union would later boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals , with the USSR and East Germany winning 127 out of 204 available golds .
The 1980 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games , was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13 to February 24 , 1980 , in Lake Placid , New York , United States . This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games , after 1932 . The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi , British Columbia , Canada , which withdrew before the final vote ( though Vancouver would eventually win the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics . ) The mascot of the Games was Roni , a raccoon . The mask-like rings on a raccoon 's face recall the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports . The sports were played at the Olympic Center , Whiteface Mountain , Mt . Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run , the Olympic Ski Jumps , the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center , and the Lake Placid High School Speed Skating Oval .
Gheorghe Lixandru ( born 26 March 1953 ) is a Romanian bobsledder . He competed at the 1976 , 1980 and the 1984 Winter Olympics .