Cătălin Chirilă, aged 26, qualified, on Wednesday, in the semifinals of the single 1000 meters canoe event at the Paris Olympic Games, setting an Olympic record. Chirilă competed in the third series and was clocked with a time of 3:44.75, finishing first in the series, detached, setting the Olympic record of the test.
Frenchman Adrien Bart took second place, with a time of 3:46.93.
The first two qualified for the semi-finals, and the rest go to the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals also take place on Wednesday, from 15.40. The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, at 12:30, and the final will also take place on Friday, from 14:40.
Cătălin Chirilă is European event champion (2022, in Szeged, 2024 also in Szeged) and world champion (2022, Halifax).
The Romanian delegation has so far won 7 medals at the Olympic Games in Paris: 3 gold, 3 silver and one bronze.
Gold medals: David Popovici (200 m freestyle); Florin Enache, Andrei Cornea (double rowing); Simona Radiș, Ioana Vrînceanu, Amalia Bereș, Adriana Adam, Maria Lehaci, Ancuța Bodnar, Roxana Anghel, Magda Rusu and Victoria Petreanu (rowing 8+1).
Silver medals: Simona Radiș, Ancuța Bodnar (double rowing); Ioana Vrînceanu, Roxana Anghel (double frames); Ionela Cozmiuc, Gianina van Groningen (double rowing light category);
Bronze: David Popovici (100 m freestyle).