Loading ...President Traian Basescu on Wednesday hosted a ceremony at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest to bestow medals and distinctions on the Romanian Olympic team, which returned home from Beijing on Tuesday.
'My congratulations go equally to both the medal-winning athletes and to those who did not won any medal. Besides medals, there was the wish of any of you to represent Romania the best you could. The medal winners will receive high state decorations and medals. I will be waiting for the others to bestow the same high distinctions on them after the 2012 London Olympic Games,' said Basescu.
He added that he watched many of the 2008 Olympics events and was very impressed by the efforts and abnegation of the Romanian athletes.
'I could say that I was maybe equally moved by the moments of glory as I was by the moments of failure. I will never forget the first vault of Dragulescu and neither his failure just one minute afterwards. In fact the moral champion in the men's horse vault event was Dragulescu, with 16.880 points, the highest mark in the competition, which proves that sometimes the Olympic title may be snatched away by bad luck in a fraction of a second. I was very impressed by Camelia Potec and also by many of you who did not win medals. That is why I believed it would be fair for all of you to be here, to thank you and assure you of my entire support and respect. The medal winners have surely won worldwide glory for their performance,' said Basescu.
He said Romania's harvest of medals in Beijing – four gold, one silver and three bronze medals – does not compare with the one in the former Sydney or Athens editions, but the 17th place is more then good when comparing Romania with other countries in terms of geographical size and population.
'Romania was nonetheless the 17th best Olympic country, but if the country's geographical size is compared, the place is much better. This shows that the importance of sports exceeds the place of the country in the size and population rankings. It has been noticed that the world's largest nations – China, the US and the Russian Federation – have won about 25 percent of the total medals, which explains why the remaining nations won so few medals. The problem still remains that the Romanian Government should invest more in the country's athletes,' Basescu pointed out.
The President also said he is glad that these days there is also talk about Romanian Olympic champions in judo, gymnastics and rowing, because much of the time there is only talk about football.
'We remember the excellent performance of athletes, the Olympic champions, only when we count the medals, otherwise we become overfed with football. I believe that these heroes of the world, both current and former Romanian Olympic champions, deserve more attention. The world of the sports does not mean football only,' said Basescu.
He also extended thanks to coaches and trainers, doctors and masseurs of the Olympic team. 'It is because of them that the athletes could perform so well,' Basescu added.
The President awarded Romania's Star in rank of Cavalier on rower Georgeta Andrunache, while Andrunache's team mate gold winner Viorica Susanu received a Faithful Service National Order in rank of Cavalier. Head coach of the Romanian women's rowing team Mircea Eugen Roman was also awarded a Faithful Service National Order in rank of Cavalier.
Judoka Alina Dumitru, gymnast Sandra Izbasa and marathon runner Constantina Dita Tomescu were awarded Sports Merits First Class orders.
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