Romania, historic success at the Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. The best result in the last half century
Romania's bobsleigh team consists of Mihai Tentea and George Iordache. Photo source: Facebook – Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee
Mihai Tentea and George Iordache took 5th place in the two-person bobsled event, Tuesday evening, at the Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina.
It is the best Romanian bobsleigh result since the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, when Ion Panțuru and Ion Zangor finished the bobsled-2 event also in 5th position.
“Romania 5th place at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games! Mihai Tentea and George Iordache achieved the best performance of the tricolors since Sapporo 1972. Mihai's mastery, George's strength and the coaches' dream came true in Cortina”, declared the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee in a short post after Tuesday night's performance.
For Romanian sport, it is also the most important ranking at an edition of the Winter Games after Albertville 1992, when the lugers Ioan Apostol and Liviu Cepoi obtained a 4th place, according to GSP.
The bob-2 test was dominated by the German crews, who achieved a “triple”. Olympic gold was won by Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer (3:39.7), who were followed in the medal ranking by their compatriots Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schüller, with silver, and Adam Ammour and Alexander Schaller, respectively, with bronze.
Americans Frankie del Duca and Joshua Williamson took 4th place with a time of 3:41.96. Mihai Tentea and George Iordache had a time of 3:42.37.
The bobsleigh also brought Romania's only medal in the history of participation in the Winter Olympics. It happened in 1968, in Grenoble, when Ion Panțuru and Nicolae Neagoe won the bronze with a bob built at the Bucharest Electric Machine Factory, according to TVR Info.
