Alina Dumitru (; born 30 August 1982) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n judoka, one-time Olympic champion and eight-time European champion. At the 2008 Summer Olympics she defeated Japanese double gold medallist

Ryoko Tani is a retired Japanese female judoka and a politician. Competing in the extra-lightweight (48 kg) class, she won a record seven world titles and five Olympic medals including two golds at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. After her retirement ...

, who until then had been undefeated in major international competitions for 12 years.

Career

2008 Summer Olympics

Dumitru defeated the legendary five-time Olympian

by " keikoku" in a shocking –48 kg semifinal upset at the

Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium The Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium () is an indoor arena located on the campus of the University of Science and Technology Beijing. The venue covers an area of 2.38 hectares and the total floor space of construction reaches 2 ...

. She controlled the five-minute showdown, maintaining her position with strong defense, refusing to budge or give her experienced foe a chance to mount a strong attack. It worked, as Tani lost points for passivity. Then she flipped Cuba's Yanet Bermoy becoming the first Romanian judoka to win a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games.

2012 Summer Olympics

She took part in the

Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics The judo competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held from 28 July to 3 August at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. Qualification Qualification was based on the world ranking list prepared by the International Judo Federation on ...

but lost in the final against

Sarah Menezes Sarah Gabrielle Cabral de Menezes (born March 26, 1990) is a judoka from Brazil. In Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 48 kg, 2012, she became the first Brazilian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in judo, after defeating the reigning ...

. In the semifinals, Dumitru beat world number one

Tomoko Fukumi is a Japanese judoka from Tsukuba University. Fukumi is a 4th dan (rank), dan in judo. She is the only judoka to have beaten Ryoko Tani twice. Later she won the gold medal in the extra-lightweight (-48 kg) division at the 2009 World Judo C ...

Awards

Alina Dumitru was decorated by the president of Romania,

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...

, with Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III. She was given the award of ''Cetățean de onoare'' ("

Honorary Citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

") of her hometown

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commune ...

in 2008.

References

External links

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Videos of Alina Alexandra Dumitru
(judovision.org) 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Bucharest Romanian female judoka Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of Romania Olympic gold medalists for Romania Olympic medalists in judo Olympic silver medalists for Romania Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics 20th-century Romanian women 21st-century Romanian women {{Romania-Olympic-medalist-stub