The Most Famous
WRESTLERS from Romania
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Romanian Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Romanian Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Lajos Keresztes (1900 - 1978)
With an HPI of 44.93, Lajos Keresztes is the most famous Romanian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.
Lajos Keresztes (30 April 1900 – 9 August 1978) was a Hungarian wrestler and Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling.
2. Nicolae Martinescu (1940 - 2013)
With an HPI of 44.70, Nicolae Martinescu is the 2nd most famous Romanian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Nicolae Martinescu (24 February 1940 – 1 April 2013) was a Greco-Roman wrestler from Romania. He competed at the 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1972, placing third in 1968 and fourth in 1964. At the 1976 Olympics he served as the flag bearer for Romania at the opening ceremony. Martinescu won a European title in 1966 and five medals at the world championships between 1963 and 1974. Domestically he collected 18 Romanian national titles between 1961 and 1978. In 1972, he was awarded the title of Merited Master of Sport of the USSR. After retiring from competitions he worked at the Romanian Wrestling Federation. Martinescu died aged 73 in Bucharest. His wife was folk singer Mioara Velicu.
3. Vasile Andrei (b. 1955)
With an HPI of 43.62, Vasile Andrei is the 3rd most famous Romanian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
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 București. After retiring from competitions he worked as a wrestling coach, and in 2000 trained the Tunisian national team.
4. Ștefan Rusu (b. 1956)
With an HPI of 42.81, Ștefan Rusu is the 4th most famous Romanian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Ştefan Rusu (born 2 February 1956) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler from Romania. He competed at the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics and won a silver, a gold and a bronze medal, respectively. He also won world titles in different weight divisions in 1978 and 1982 and European titles in 1978–1981 and 1985. After retiring from competitions he worked as a wrestling coach in Romania and in Turkey.
5. Vasile Pușcașu (b. 1956)
With an HPI of 40.57, Vasile Pușcașu is the 5th most famous Romanian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Vasile Puşcaşu (born 2 May 1956) is a retired heavyweight freestyle wrestler from Romania. He has competed at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympics and won two medals: a gold in 1988 and a bronze in 1984. He also won two silver and four bronze medals at the world and European championships between 1977 and 1987.
6. Alina Dumitru (b. 1982)
With an HPI of 35.15, Alina Dumitru is the 6th most famous Romanian Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Alina Dumitru (Romanian pronunciation: [aˈlina duˈmitru]; born 30 August 1982) is a Romanian judoka, one-time Olympic champion and eight-time European champion. At the 2008 Summer Olympics she defeated Japanese double gold medalist Ryoko Tani, who until then had been undefeated in major international competitions for 12 years.
7. Corina Căprioriu (b. 1986)
With an HPI of 27.80, Corina Căprioriu is the 7th most famous Romanian Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Corina Căprioriu (Romanian pronunciation: [koˈrina kəpriˈorju]; born 18 July 1986) is a Romanian judoka. She has competed under the name Corina Ștefan since her 2016 marriage to Romanian wrestler Gheorghiță Ștefan. Căprioriu won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She lost in the final against Japan’s Kaori Matsumoto after being disqualified (hansoku) during the golden score period in the women's –57 kg weight class. Căprioriu also won the bronze medal in the lightweight division at the 2011 World Judo Championships. Caprioriu was European Champion in 2010 and bronze medalist in 2011. She has booked multiple World cup titles since 2010. Căprioriu managed to qualify in the final at the 2015 World Judo Championships where she met her opponent from the 2012 Summer Olympics, Kaori Matsumoto. She lost after the Japanese scored a waza-ari. She is the current World No.1 at the Women's –57 kg category.
8. Andreea Ana (b. 2000)
With an HPI of 0.00, Andreea Ana is the 8th most famous Romanian Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into different languages.
Andreea Beatrice Ana (born 14 November 2000) is a Romanian freestyle wrestler. She is a five-time medalist, including three gold medals, at the European Wrestling Championships. She is the first female wrestler representing Romania to win a gold medal at the European Wrestling Championships. In 2021, Ana became under-23 world champion in the 55 kg event at the U23 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. She represented Romania at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
People
Pantheon has 8 people classified as Romanian wrestlers born between 1900 and 2000. Of these 8, 6 (75.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Romanian wrestlers include Vasile Andrei, Ștefan Rusu, and Vasile Pușcașu. The most famous deceased Romanian wrestlers include Lajos Keresztes, and Nicolae Martinescu. As of April 2024, 2 new Romanian wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Vasile Pușcașu, and Andreea Ana.
Living Romanian Wrestlers
Go to all Rankings
Vasile Andrei
1955 - Present
HPI: 43.62
Ștefan Rusu
1956 - Present
HPI: 42.81
Vasile Pușcașu
1956 - Present
HPI: 40.57
Alina Dumitru
1982 - Present
HPI: 35.15
Corina Căprioriu
1986 - Present
HPI: 27.80
Andreea Ana
2000 - Present
HPI: 0.00
