Ionel Alexandru "Ion" Drîmbă (also Drâmbă, March 18, 1942 – February 20, 2006) was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n fencer. he competed at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won the first ever Olympic gold medal in fencing for Romania in 1968.
Biography
Drîmbă was born in 1942 in
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
, in a working-class family. His father worked at the post office.
He took up fencing aged 8 at the local club "Flacăra roșie" following his elder brother
and quickly showed talent: he competed with seniors from the age of 13 both in
foil
Foil may refer to:
Materials
* Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine
* Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal
* Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food
* Tin foil, metal foil ma ...
and
sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
and joined the national foil team at age 16. In 1959, he won the junior national championships in both weapons.
Drîmbă transferred to
CSA Steaua București
Clubul Sportiv al Armatei Steaua București, commonly known as CSA Steaua București () or simply Steaua, is a major multi-sports club based in Bucharest and run by the Ministry of National Defence. It is one of the most successful clubs in Roma ...
in 1960, when he was 18. He did not however join the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...
, of which Steaua is the sports club, but worked as a civilian employee.
That same year, he won the national championship in foil
and won a silver medal in foil and reached the semi-finals in sabre at the Junior European Championships in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
.
He took part in the
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
in Rome but did not earn any medal.
He won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in 1963. During this period he got to know foil fencer and fellow Stelist
Ileana Gyulai, who would become his wife.
Drîmbă became team world champion in 1967 along with
Ștefan Ardeleanu,
Iuliu Falb,
Tănase Mureșanu
Tănase Mureșanu (22 May 1940 – 6 March 2007) is a Romanian foil fencer.
Career
Mureșanu took up fencing when he was 11 years old under coach Angelo Pellegrini at CS Progresul in Bucharest. He won the junior national championship in 195 ...
and
Mihai Țiu
Mihai Țiu (born 25 January 1946) is a Romanian fencer. He competed in the individual and team foil events at the 1968, 1972, 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights en ...
. For this performance he was named "honored sports master" ( ro, Maestru emerit al sportului). A year later he earned the first gold medal of Romanian fencing at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
with nineteen victories and two defeats.
["1968 Summer Olympics – Mexico City, Mexico – Fencing"]
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on June 19, 2008) He also became European champion in 1968 and 1969. He was named the best foilist in the world by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). The Romanian Government however failed to deliver the promised car and gave out only half the monetary reward it had initially announced.
Dissatisfied with the way he and the other high-performance athletes were treated in Romania, Drîmbă defected in 1970 to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
during his stay in Paris for the Challenge Martini, a
Fencing World Cup
The FIE Fencing World Cup is an international fencing competition held by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime. In each weapon (Men's and Women's Épée, Sabre and Foil), three Grand Prix, five World Cup events and several satellite events ar ...
competition: he escaped an official dinner and found refuge at the West-German embassy.
His name was subsequently deleted from official Romanian sports records. Drîmbă worked for about two years as a coach in
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
under a contract with the German Fencing Federation.
He trained amongst other German champions
Matthias Behr
Matthias Behr (born 1 April 1955 in Tauberbischofsheim, Baden-Württemberg) is a former German foil fencer. He won a gold medal and three silvers at three Olympic Games.
Biography
Matthias Behr attended the Kaufmännische Schule Tauberbischofsh ...
and
Alexander Pusch
Alexander Pusch (born 15 May 1955 in Tauberbischofsheim, Baden-Württemberg) is a German fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition.
Biography
Alexander Pusch fought for the Fencing-Club Tauberbischofsheim. He won a gold medal in the in ...
.
He then left for the United States and settled down first in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, where he taught Fencing at Pima Community College. He met and married Cinda Gibson, with the hope of gaining citizenship, and they had a son, Jeffrey. They were divorced, and he then moved to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, where he opened his own fencing school.
He also coached in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
before opening another school, this time in Brazil. He remarried and had four children.
In 1996 he decided to return to Romania, where his name had been reinstated in historical records after the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, in the hope that his coaching experience abroad would be rewarded. He received the grade of officer in the
Order For Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...
,
but he did not get any job offer. He also had to retire his candidacy to the
Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee
The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games.
History
The Romanian Olympic Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic Român) was formed in 1 ...
.
Disappointed, he went back to Brazil, where he died in 2006.
[
]
Awards
*''Sport Merit, First Class''
*''Honored Sports Master'' ("Maestru emerit al sportului")[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drimba, Ion
1942 births
2006 deaths
Romanian male fencers
Romanian foil fencers
Olympic fencers for Romania
Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Fencers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Romania
Olympic medalists in fencing
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Romanian defectors
Romanian sportspeople of Hungarian descent
Sportspeople from Timișoara