Stefan Florescu (1926/1927 – October 29, 2010) was an American

paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and table tennis player. He participated at the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964,

Biography

Florescu was born in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

. He attended at

St. Ambrose University St. Ambrose University is a private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882. History Foundation St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and school of commerce for young men in 1882, know ...

, later graduating in 1951. Florescu was a part of a swimming incident in 1952, causing him to be

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

. He participated at the National Wheelchair Games in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in which Florescu won a free trip to participate at the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

along with his teammates, in 1964. Florescu participated at the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964,

, with participating in the

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

competition at the Paralympic Games. He was awarded the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the 25m freestyle prone complete class 1 event. Florescu scored 1:02:20. He also participated in the 25m freestyle supine complete class 1 event, being awarded the bronze medal. Florescu scored 0:57:20. He also participated in the 25m breaststroke complete class 1 event, being awarded the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

. Florescu scored 1:36:80. He participated in the

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

competition at the Paralympic Games. Florescu participated in the Singles A1 event, being awarded the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. Florescu died in October 2010, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Paralympic Games profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florescu, Stefan 1920s births 2010 deaths Year of birth missing Sportspeople from Davenport, Iowa People with tetraplegia Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1964 Summer Paralympics American male swimmers American male breaststroke swimmers American male freestyle swimmers American male table tennis players Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic medalists in table tennis Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic swimmers for the United States Paralympic table tennis players for the United States St. Ambrose University alumni Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States