The canoes Simona Radis and Magdalena Rusu, swimmer Robert Badea and retired tennis player Horia Tecău share memories, feelings and wishes related to Christmas.
Christmas unites, brings peace and hope, and for athletes it is an opportunity to disconnect for a few days, to be together with loved ones, to share joy and to leave aside the demands of training or competitions. Several of them shared with GSP what this holiday means to them and how they spend it.
Horia Tecău: “Now I have time for family and friends”
Horia Tecau he played his last game in February 2022, then moved extremely quickly to the position of non-captain of the Billie Jean King Cup team, which he relinquished this year.
With more time for himself and his projects, Horia says the time around Christmas is different now. “The program is for friends, family. For me, I wake up, I do what I want. Peace and joy. A circle of friends and family”, said the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion.
It's a special time for the former tennis player. “I have memories of when I believed in Santa Claus and I know how my family used to trick us that Santa came on the balcony and hide. I was left with this memory and the Christmas tree, which for me was the symbol of Christmas.
We gathered around the tree: presents, lights, sweets. And the fact that I, always coming home only on Christmas days, that's when all these things happened and I was the most involved in this story, because I missed and loved it”, Horia said.
He revealed that this year he has been decorating the tree since the beginning of December. “For me, my favorite holiday is Christmas and I also enjoy the feeling that I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere, that I sit quietly during this period“, emphasized Tecau.
Robert Badea: “I wish there was a little snow”
Robert BadeaEuropean junior champion and world bronze medalist in the 400 medley this year, lights up when talking about Christmas. “I love getting presents, who doesn't?, but at the end of the day I wish there was snow, because then it feels like it's really Christmas, but we have practice anyway.
I don't want any of that, I have it all right now. All I want is to stay healthy and do everything I wanted to do,” said the 18-year-old swimmer, who suffered a broken elbow at the end of the year.
Robert Badea and Iulia Becheru in the hallways of the Otopeni swimming pool PHOTO FRNPM
What does he offer those who supported him in his last junior year? “To the team, a smile — not all the time, we get angry — but I hope they're happy with what I'm doing and I don't have to give them too much, because we're all in this project together.”
The rowers, together with the family at Christmas
Simona Radis and Magdalena RusuEuropean and world champions in double frames and world 8 plus 1 mixed in 2025, couldn't wait for the year-end break to be with their loved ones for the Holidays. They stayed in camp until December 20, when they did their last training for the year, then entered a festive and relaxing period.
The two, like most of the rowers in the national team, will be at Christmas together with their families, following traditions and sharing magical moments.
“I will spend Christmas with my family, with my loved ones. and New Year's Eve with my friend and another group of friends. It will definitely be memorable and beautiful. We hope it snows a little. The weather doesn't look like it's going to snow at the moment, but we're still hoping!Simona said smiling.
I don't want anything in particular. Anything from Santa Claus is welcome, I'm happy with a chocolate too. It really doesn't matter. What matters more is to be healthy, healthy, to be near our loved ones, because it is this important, warm period, when you have to stay with your family and celebrate what is being celebrated, in fact, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can't wait for the carolers, at least I do, and I hope the coming year will be at least as beautiful as this one” – Simona Radis
For Magda, Christmas has a special meaning, it is a holiday that invokes positive, warm sensations.
“I like Christmas very much because it seems to me a celebration of love, giving, fulfillment. I say fulfillment because it's a different feeling. When you're on the podium, you're happy, it's soul fulfillment, it's something more than happiness. And that's what I think Christmas would be“, she says.
“We spend time as a family with the gifts under the tree, which we receive from Santa. And the festive family meal. The same things, and I find them very beautiful,” he adds. Then, for the year 2026, he has personal wishes, but also related to sports activity. “I wish they come up with slightly as good results. And to catch me healthy, that's what I want, to bring me health“, she emphasized.
