The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Romania

This page contains a list of the greatest Romanian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 49 of which were born in Romania. This makes Romania the birth place of the 24th most number of Athletes behind Cuba, and Belarus.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Romanian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Romanian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Romanian Athletes.

1. Iolanda Balaș (1936 - 2016)

With an HPI of 60.22, Iolanda Balaș is the most famous Romanian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.

Iolanda Balaș (Romanian pronunciation: [joˈlanda ˈbalaʃ], Hungarian: Balázs Jolán, later Balázs-Sőtér Jolán; 12 December 1936 – 11 March 2016) was a Romanian athlete, an Olympic champion and former world record holder in the high jump. She was the first Romanian woman to win an Olympic gold medal and is considered to have been one of the greatest high jumpers of the twentieth century.

2. Vasile Dîba (1954 - 2024)

With an HPI of 52.49, Vasile Dîba is the 2nd most famous Romanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Vasile Dîba (24 July 1954 – 20 February 2024) was a Romanian sprint canoeist. Competing in three Summer Olympics in 1976–1984, he won four medals with one gold (1976: K-1 500 m), one silver (1980: K-4 1000 m), and two bronzes (1976: K-1 1000 m, 1980: K-1 500 m). Dîba also won seven medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with five golds (K-1 500 m: 1974, 1977, 1978; K-1 1000 m: 1977, K-1 4×500 m: 1974) and two silvers (K-1 500 m and K-1 4×500 m: both 1975). He later had a sports hall named after him in Jurilovca. Dîba died in Bucharest on 20 February 2024, at the age of 69.

3. Ivan Patzaichin (1949 - 2021)

With an HPI of 52.01, Ivan Patzaichin is the 3rd most famous Romanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Ivan Patzaichin (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈvan paˈt͡sajkin]; 26 November 1949 – 5 September 2021) was a Romanian canoe racing coach and sprint canoeist. He took part in all major competitions between 1968 and 1984, including five consecutive Olympics, and won seven Olympic and 22 world championship medals, including four Olympic gold medals. This makes him the most decorated Romanian canoeist of all time. He later worked as a canoeing coach, attending five more Olympics in this capacity. In 1990 he was awarded the Olympic Order, and in 2006 a nationwide poll included him on the list 100 Greatest Romanians of all time.

4. Argentina Menis (1948 - 2023)

With an HPI of 51.71, Argentina Menis is the 4th most famous Romanian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Argentina Menis (19 July 1948 – 3 March 2023) was a Romanian discus thrower who won silver medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in. Munich and 1974 European Athletics Championships. She finished sixth at the 1976 Olympics. On 23 September 1972, she set a world record that stood for eight months. After retiring from competitions she worked at her club Dinamo București. Menis died on 3 March 2023, at the age of 74.

5. Mihaela Peneș (1947 - 2024)

With an HPI of 50.93, Mihaela Peneș is the 5th most famous Romanian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Mihaela Peneș (22 July 1947 – 29 August 2024) was a Romanian javelin thrower. She competed at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal, respectively. Peneș first trained in swimming, handball and basketball, and changed to athletics because of her mother, a former athlete. In 1963, she won the national junior championships, setting a national record in the javelin throw, and since 1964 competed as a senior. After finishing her active career she worked as an athletics coach and official. In 1990, she joined the Romanian Olympic Committee, in 1995 became head of its international department, and in January–April 1999 served as its Secretary General. Peneș died on 29 August 2024, at the age of 77.

6. Nicolae Neagoe (1941 - 2023)

With an HPI of 50.19, Nicolae Neagoe is the 6th most famous Romanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Nicolae Neagoe (2 August 1941 – 29 April 2023) was a Romanian bobsledder who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Neagoe was born in Sinaia on 2 August 1941. With his driver Ion Panţuru, he won the bronze medal in the two-man event at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. As of the 2022 Winter Olympics, this is Romania's only medal at the Winter Olympics. Nicolae Neagoe died on 29 April 2023, at the age of 81.

7. Dimitrie Popescu (1961 - 2023)

With an HPI of 49.57, Dimitrie Popescu is the 7th most famous Romanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Dimitrie Popescu (10 September 1961 – 11 November 2023) was a Romanian rower. He competed in various events at the 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics and won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal. He won the same set of medals at the world championships in 1985–1996. After retiring from competition he worked as a coach for CSA Steaua. Popescu died in Bușteni on 11 November 2023, at the age of 62.

8. Doina Melinte (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 48.69, Doina Melinte is the 8th most famous Romanian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Doina Ofelia Melinte (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdojna meˈlinte]; née Beșliu on 27 December 1956) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed at four Olympics (1980–92), and won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver medal in the 1,500 metres in 1984. She won the world indoor title in 1987 and 1989 and the European indoor title in 1985, 1988 and 1990 in the 1,500 m. Her world indoor mile record of 4:17.41 in 1990, stood for 26 years.

9. István Somodi (1885 - 1963)

With an HPI of 48.04, István Somodi is the 9th most famous Romanian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

István Somodi (22 August 1885, Kolozsvár, Kingdom of Hungary – 8 June 1963, Cluj, Romania) was a Hungarian athlete who competed mainly in the high jump. He competed for Hungary at the 1908 Summer Olympics, held in London, Great Britain, where he won the silver medal in the high jump.

10. Maricica Puică (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 47.94, Maricica Puică is the 10th most famous Romanian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Maricica Puică (née Luca on 29 July 1950) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She is the 1984 Olympic champion in the 3,000 metres. One of the greatest female middle-distance runners of the 1980s, she also twice won the World Cross Country Championship (1982, 1984) and broke the world record for the mile in 1982.

People

Pantheon has 159 people classified as Romanian athletes born between 1885 and 2003. Of these 159, 137 (86.16%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Romanian athletes include Doina Melinte, Maricica Puică, and Leon Rotman. The most famous deceased Romanian athletes include Iolanda Balaș, Vasile Dîba, and Ivan Patzaichin. As of April 2024, 111 new Romanian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Vasile Dîba, Nicolae Neagoe, and Dimitrie Popescu.