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Romanian bobsledder From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ion Panţuru (11 September 1934 – 17 January 2016) was a Romanian bobsledder. He competed in two-man and four-man events at the 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Romania in 1964 and 1972.[1]
 Panțuru (left) and Focșeneanu (1973) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 11 September 1934 Comarnic, Romania | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 17, 2016 (aged 81) Ploiești, Romania | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Bobsleigh | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Bobclub Sinaia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Panţuru took up bobsleigh at the age of 24, after playing as a football goalkeeper at the Divizia B-level.[2] At the 1968 Games he won a bronze medal with brakeman Nicolae Neagoe, which remains Romania's only medal at the Winter Olympics. At the same Olympics he was also close to a bronze medal in the four-man competition, placing fourth. At the FIBT World Championships he won two medals in the two-man event, together with another brakeman Dumitru Focșeneanu, with a silver in 1969 and a bronze in 1973. At the European championships Panţuru won four-man gold medals in 1967 and 1971, placing second in four-man in 1968–69 and in two-man events in 1967 and 1969; he also won a four-man bronze medal in 1970.[3]
Panţuru lost his 1969 World Championships medal in a car on his way to the airport. The medal was found in a basement 30 years later, and returned to Panțuru. After retiring from competitions he worked as a national bobsleigh coach.[3] For his sports achievements he was made an honorary citizen of three Romanian towns: Comarnic, Sinaia and Busteni.[2]
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