Romania ranked 4th in the medal standings at the World Junior Swimming Championships hosted by Lima, Peru. The Romanian delegation walked home with four gold medals, two silver and two bronze. The gold medals were won by the Romanian men's 4x100m freestyle team, made up of David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma and Patrick Sebastian Dinu, by David Popovici in the 200m and 100m freestyle events, and by Bianca Costea in the women's 50m freestyle event. The silver medals were won by Vlad Stancu in the 400m freestyle event and by the mixed 4x100m freestyle team made up of David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu and Bianca Costea. Both bronze medals were won by Vlad Stancu in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle events.
Sunday marked the start of the women's 50m freestyle final, where Bianca Costea had qualified. The Romanian athlete won the race in 25.35 seconds, ahead of Sara Curtis and Matilde Biagiotti of Italy, who came in second and third, respectively. Whereas the gold medals won by David Popovici were somehow to be expected, Bianca Costea's medal came as a big surprise, which is why we have designated her Athlete of the Week on RRI.
Bianca-Andreea Costea was born January 26, 2005 in Galați. She took part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she competed in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. She finished the 50m qualifying heat in 25.61 seconds, which was however not enough to secure her a place in the semi-finals.
Bianca Costea starting swimming at the age of 7 at the Viva Sports Club in Galați. Since then she has grabbed important results in national and international competitions. She has competed in all swimming styles, but chose to specialize in freestyle. She is currently enrolled at the Steaua Bucharest sports club and her next objective is winning a medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024. (VP)