Alina Dumitru
Olympic champion, Beijing 2008 • Olympic silver, London 2012 • Eight-time European champion
Career
Alina Alexandra Dumitru is the most successful judoka in Romanian history — the first and only athlete to win Olympic gold in the sport for Romania. In the 48 kg category she built a formidable record of Olympic, European and world titles, dominating the continental scene for close to a decade.
Jocurile Olimpice
- 🥇 Aur — Beijing 2008: beat the legendary Japanese fighter Ryoko Tani (unbeaten since 1996) in the semi-final, and in the final Yanet Bermoy (Cuba)
- 🥈 Argint — Londra 2012: won after a dramatic final, fought with an elbow injury
- Locul 5 — Atena 2004: lost the bronze in the last five seconds of the bout
Campionatele Europene — 10 medalii
8 medalii de aur (record absolut la categoria 48 kg): Bucharest 2004, Rotterdam 2005, Tampere 2006, Belgrad 2007, Lisabona 2008, Viena 2010, Istanbul 2011, Chelyabinsk 2012.
2 medalii de bronz: Maribor 2002 (at 52 kg, her first senior European medal) and Tbilisi 2009.
Campionatele Mondiale
3 medalii de bronz: Cairo 2005, Rio de Janeiro 2007 and Tokyo 2010.
Junior results
- Aur — Campionatele Mondiale de Juniori, Tunisia 2000
- Argint — Campionatele Europene de Juniori, Budapesta 2001
Other competitions and figures
- 34 de medalii in World Cup, Grand Prix and Grand Slam events (of which 12 de aur)
- Aur la Campionatele Balcanice, Belgrad 2003
- Joint record holder with Edith Hrovat (Austria) and Angelique Seriese (Netherlands) for the most European titles in women’s judo (8)
After retiring
Alina Dumitru stopped competing after the 2012 Olympics. She later became antrenor la CSA Steaua Bucharest, passing her experience and her love of judo on to the next generation.
"At Mircea Eliade I learned that winning is built day by day, session by session. This is where I became a fighter."
— Alina Dumitru, ten years on from her Olympic gold