Excellent in the first two heats held on Monday, pilot Mihai Tentea and pusher George Iordache tend to become Romania's performers at the current edition of the Winter Olympics. The Romanian bobbers finished the first two heats in 5th place, in the discipline that brought us the only medal in history at the Winter Gamesin 1968, in Grenoble, thanks to Ion Panturu and Nicolae Neagoe.
In an interview given to Gazeta Sporturilor, Ion Duminicel, who was about to leave for Milan to watch the last two legs of the Romanian crew, dissected today's result, speaking in superlative terms about the pilot Mihai Tentea.
Ion Duminicel: “I was speechless, I'm going to see the last two legs of the boys live”
“I'm in Innsbruck now, I'm also going to Cortina to see the last two heats of the boys.
It's a fantastic result, but somehow he announced himself, he was 8th, 9th in the World Cup (No. Mihai Tentea) with the same racing partner. I honestly said before that I could reach places 8-12, but they beat all expectations.
He did not benefit this season from his pusher, Iordache, having some health problems, but he is back and look!, this is the best tandem at the moment. Now the pusher is also very good, he recovered and I think that was the spark that made him give his all.
Actually, I don't even know if it could be better at this moment! He did exactly what he could. I was speechless, tomorrow I'm going to see them live too. It is, indeed, a true result. Practically, in the second grade, nothing like this was obtained from Panțuru!
There are hopes for the future, that's right. This child is 26 years old (No. Mihai Tentea), and age matters, because it's a mature sport. The head, the hand, everything counts, it's a complex sport, especially for the pilot. You have to be mentally, learn the level of competition, otherwise I destroy you, I tell you! In this sport, everything matters, every hundredth is important!”, declared Ion Duminicel, exclusively for GSP.ro.
“There have been good results lately, it's a shame that what happened with the women's bobsled happened, but these guys, with patience and a lot, a lot of work, look what they can do!
Go to one of their camps for a week and see how they work! A bobber must run like a sprinter, be nimble like a jumper and strong like a throweryou have to be a complete athlete to succeed”, added Ion Duminicel.
I enjoy talking about such matters, especially since I know all the history of this sport. I caught two editions of the Olympic Games, then another two as a coach, later I was general secretary of the Federation. But the bean thing rejuvenated me, sitting next to them all the time!
– Ion Duminicel, former bobber
Then and now. Ion Duminicel, first from the left, with the crew of four that started at Lake Placid, in 1980. Also in the picture are Doru Frîncu, Constantin Iancu and Constantin Obreja / Photo source: Facebook
Ion Duminicel is a former Romanian bobber, specialized in two- and four-person trials. He represented Romania at two editions of the Winter Olympics, in 1980 and 1984. Throughout his career, he also participated in other major international competitions, being one of the members of the generation that kept Romania active in the Olympic circuit of this sport in the 90s.
In '84, Duminicel competed in the four-man event and finished the Lake Placid contest in 14th place, while four years later he finished the two-man event in 18th place alongside pusher Costel Petrariu.
Mihai Tentea and George Iordache are 5th in the middle of the contest
Romanian bobbers Mihai Tentea and George Iordache achieved an excellent second leg in the bob-2 event at the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, climbing five positions in the intermediate hierarchy. The final two parts of the contest are scheduled for Tuesday, February 17.
On Tuesday, the last two legs of the men's bobsleigh are scheduled, from 20:00 and 22:05 respectively (live on TVR, Eurosport and HBO Max). The Romanians are close to an excellent result at this edition of the Winter Games.
“Mihai Tentea is an experienced driver, who is not new to bobsled. He had good results in training but I think the German drivers are testing their grip and grip. I think Mihai can finish in the top 10. The top 6 will be difficult, because I see other teams in front”, Eurosport expert Kevin Kuske, four-time Olympic champion, said before the start of the race.
Mihai Tentea, aged 27, is in his third Olympic participation, after Pyeongchang 2018 – 18th place in bob-2 with Nicolae Daroczi and Beijing 2022 – 16th place in bob-2 also with Daroczi and 13th place in bob-4.
George Iordache (22) is making his Olympic debut.
First of all there is restoration, then we prepare the competition material which is not easy, and we have a few good hours of work ahead with the boys. Hold our fists!
– Iulian Păcioianu, coach of the bob-2 crew
HERE, everything about the successful performance by Mihai Tentea and George Iordache.
👉🏻Romania has only one medal in its history at the Winter Olympics. This was also obtained at the bob-2 test in 1968 in Grenoble. Then the bobsleigh composed of Ion Panțuru and Nicolae Neagoe won the bronze medal.
Romania's best bobsled results at the Olympic Games
- Grenoble 1968
- Ion Panțuru, Nicolae Neagoe bob-2 – 3rd place
- Ion Panturu, Petre Hristovici, Gheorghe Maftei, Nicolae Neagoe chapter-4 – 4th place
- Sapporo 1972
- Ion Panțuru, Ion Zangor bob-2 – 5th place
- Ion Panțuru, Ion Zangor, Dumitru Pascu, Dumitru Focșeneanu chapter-4 – 10th place
- Innsbruck 1976
- Dragoș Panaitescu, Paul Neagu, Costel Ionescu, Gheorghe Lixandru chapter-4 – 8th place
- Lake Placid 1980
- Dragoș Panaitescu, Dorel Cristudor, Sandu Mitrofan, Gheorghe Lixandru chapter-4 – 8th place
- Sarajevo 1984
- Dorin Degan, Cornel Popescu, Gheorghe Lixandru, Costel Petrariu chapter-4 – 7th place
