Răzvan Florea (born 29 September 1980 in Constanța, Romania)Florea's entry
from www.sports-reference.com. is a former Olympic and national record setting

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

swimmer from

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. He was the first Romanian male to win an Olympic medal in

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 ...

when he won the bronze medal in the 200 backstroke at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. He also swam for Romania at the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Career

He began swimming at the age of six, at the Constanţa Children's Palace pool, coached by Dumitru Lungu. Due to his attraction to water and his inborn qualities (his father was a professional

scuba diver Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

), Florea overcame the drawback of being overweight and recorded a fast progress. After less than one year of swimming, he took part in his first competitions for his age group, during which he became a medalist 6 times. 1987 would become his year of reference: the first year when he won a medal. During the following years, he had a constant progress, so that in 1988 (aged 8) Florea won 11 medals within local competitions for his age group; in 1989, he won another 6 medals, and in 1990 and 1991, 21 medals, including in national competitions for 10- and 11-year-olds. The most significant results during this period are his first two national records for 50m

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

, at age 11. In 1995 (aged 15), he made his debut in the National Junior Swimming Team. In 1998 (aged 18) he was selected for the National and Olympic Teams. Between 1996 and 2000, he participated in over 25 major

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an competitions (official, unofficial and Grand Prix), winning 42 medals. His progress was constant and valuable, and he set 25

national records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as w ...

during this time. One remarkable personal achievement at international level during this period was finishing sixth in the Olympic final of the 200 backstroke at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. The next year was difficult, due to health problems, but he eventually managed to return to the international competition arena, finishing fifth at the 2002 European Championships, a sign which marked his comeback. In 2003, he made his debut in World Cup competitions, winning his first silver medal at this level – second place in the 200 back (Stockholm, 22 January 2003). He also set a new national record in the

short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration curren ...

100m backstroke event as well. In 2004, he recorded several remarkable results: he won 3 gold medals at the New York and Rio de Janeiro

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

meets (February 2004) and he set 4 new Romanian national records. In May at the 2004 European Championships, Florea finished second in the 200 m backstroke. In the summer at the Mare Nostrum meets, he won 6 gold medals and 2 silver medals (in

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, Canet,

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and

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), which earned him second place in the general circuit ranking. Then at the

, Florea won the bronze medal in the 200 m backstroke, also setting 2 new Romanian national records. The next year, at the 2005 World Championships, Florea finished fourth in the 200 m backstroke, three hundreds of a second short of the bronze medal. However, his 1:57.03 time meant a new national record. He recorded his first 2006 results at the 2005-2006 World Cup competitions in Moscow and New York, winning two bronze medals in the 200 backstroke. By this time in his career, Răzvan Florea has won 100 Romanian National Champion titles, has set national records 57 times, and has won a total of over 293 medals, of which 77 in international competitions. He retired in 2010.

Awards

* The ''Meritul Sportiv'' National Medal (sporting achievement), second class with one strap * The ''Meritul Sportiv'' Order (sporting achievement), third class with two straps

References

* Personal website
www.razvanflorea.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florea, Razvan 1980 births Living people Romanian male backstroke swimmers Sportspeople from Constanța Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Olympic swimmers of Romania Olympic bronze medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics