“Mercy of God” – stories about Ivan Patzaichin, who seemed taller and stronger than he really was
Article by Oana Duşmănescu – Published Sunday, December 28, 2025, 4:51 p.m. / Updated Sunday, December 28, 2025, 4:52 p.m.
The author Sorin Trânca tries to answer the question “Who was Ivan Patzaichin?” using the silky and elongated weapons of storytelling and taking us through the universe from which the great Romanian canoeist, who died in 2021, at the age of 71, came from.
The title – “The Mercy of God”, published by Pilot Books – is not chosen by chance. In addition to the obviously spiritual resonance, he refers to the place where it all started: the village of Mila 23 in the Danube Delta, the birthplace of four-time Olympic champion Ivan.
Sorin Trânca, a man with a long history in advertising, traveled some good kilometers and collected a lot of testimonies to understand how a simple boy from the Delta came to look like a 2-meter giant in our eyes, although his passport said otherwise.
The book takes us through the Delta of Ivan's childhood, around Snagov, where his training took place, and through the memories of those who loved him (family, friends, colleagues). It is a documentary journey, which does not lack the sensitivity of a story collector.
All the words that others now have to say about Ivan have been gathered into a rich volume populated with photographs of fish, water boats and paddles, in a kind of tribute biography that is more of a literary essay, sprinkled here and there with quotes from great writers – for example, Margaret Atwood on the flow of water.
Many of the people who knew Ivan Patzaichin throughout his sporting and non-sporting life are gathered in Trânca's book, reconstructing his shadow from stories, parables, gestures taken from an unrepeatable past and served in the form of a story about a full-fledged hero.
Ivan Patzaichin has the complete portrait – champion, family man, business partner, ordinary man, who hid his unusual qualities with modesty and discretion.
The author started from the observation that many of those who had not met Ivan Patzaichin in person believed that he was over 1.90 meters tall. In reality, Ivan was only 1.78 meters tall. “Why this difference in perception? Why did Ivan seem so much taller?” – these were the questions that started the idea and execution of the book.
The Red Emperor of Ivan's Realm
Vanea Suvorov, known as Vanea Roșu, is one of the most picturesque characters who left their testimonies in this book. Now over 80 years old, the one who played with Ivan as a child.
“Don't think Matale or anyone else that Ivan was strong. He had the strength too, but if you don't have the breath to carry the strength . . . He had a very good body, but if Ivan didn't have a head and a lung, he wasn't what he was. He had heart and courage. And clean minds. He never thought if I lose, what I do. And he was kind-hearted to the people, and the people did not resent him. He knew exactly that he was winning!” – these are the words of the old man from Lipov, making perhaps the clearest and most comprehensive description of Ivan Patzaichin.
An emotional testimony also comes from Florin Popescu, Olympic champion in Sydney alongside Mitică Pricop, to whom Ivan Patzaichin was a mentor and coach.
Popescu tells that in 1993, Ivan caught him and kicked him out. “Then”, writes Sorin Trâncă, “he called him to his room and told him like this: «Florine, look, this pack of cigarettes is yours, I put it aside for you. When you come out Olympic champion, I give you cigarettes, with my hand. Until then, you have nothing to look for with cigarettes, if you want to continue». And Florin wanted, and knew, and was able to continue. And Ivan waited for him at his first Olympic finish with a pack of cigarettes.”
The whole volume is an exercise in admiration – some may find it exaggerated, especially since, at a given moment, the multitude of voices that speak about Patzaichin also speak about themselves, and the stories become, in some places, similar to small tornadoes that kind of take their readers up.
His modesty was not the absence of pride, but the presence of a deeper understanding – that man is not the measure of the world, but a driving unit of it. He showed us that glory is but a shadow on the water and that the path you carve in life is more important
– “Mercy of God”, Prologue
Ivan Patzaichin took part in 5 editions of the Olympic Games (Mexico 1968, Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984), winning 4 gold and 3 silver medals in the double and single canoe events. At the World Championships, Patzaichin collected 22 medals, including 8 gold, 4 silver and 10 bronze.
