Romania returns home with less than spectacular performance as Beijing Olympics come to an end

The Beijing Olympic Games came to a colorful festive conclusion on Sunday after 16 days that saw over 300 sports contests. Romania came 17th in the final list of Olympic nations, with a total of eight – four gold, a silver and three bronze – medals, way less than the top medal-grabbing nations such as China, the US and Russia.

Top 20 Olympic nations (gold medals, silver medals, bronze medals, total):

1. China 51 21 28 100

2. USA 36 38 36 110

3. Russia 23 21 28 72

4. United Kingdom 19 13 15 47

5. Germany 16 10 15 41

6. Australia 14 15 17 46

7. South Korea 13 10 8 31

8. Japan 9 6 10 25

9. Italy 8 10 10 28

10. France 7 16 17 40

11. Ukraine 7 5 15 27

12. Netherlands 7 5 4 16

13. Jamaica 6 3 2 11

14. Spain 5 10 3 18

15. Kenya 5 5 4 14

16. Belarus 4 5 10 19

17. ROMANIA 4 1 3 8

18. Ethiopia 4 1 2 7

19. Canada 3 9 6 18

20. Poland 3 6 1 10

Romanian medalists:

• GOLD: Alina Dumitru (judo, 48 kg); Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu (rowing, women’s pair), Constantina Dita-Tomescu (marathon), Sandra Izbasa (gymnastics, floor)
• SILVER: Ana Maria Branza (women’s epee)
• BRONZE: Mihai Covaliu (sabre), Romanian gymnastics team, rowing eight women’s team

As the games concluded, the grandiose ceremony hosted by Beijing saw London mayor receiving the Olympic flag from his Beijing counterpart Guo Jinlong as the British capital is to host the 2012 Olympic Games. IOC head Jacques Rogge said he was pleased with the „exceptional” way the games took place.

Sports people from the 204 attending nations marched on the Olympic stadium in the Chinese capital, hailing the audience.

But Romanian participants return home with a less spectacular performance than expected – Beijing brought them the fewest medals since Helsinki 1952, way below Montreal 1976 (27 medals), Moscow 1980 (25 medals), Los Angeles 1984 (53 medals) and Seoul 1988 (24 medals).