Ion Panțuru

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]

Ion Panțuru

Panțuru in 1973
Personal information
Born	11 September 1934 (1934-09-11) Comarnic, Romania
Died	17 January 2016(2016-01-17) (aged 81) Ploiești, Romania
Height	172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
Sport	Bobsleigh
Club	Bobclub Sinaia
Medal record Men's bobsleigh Representing  Romania Olympic Games 1968 Grenoble Two-man World Championships 1969 Lake Placid Two-man 1973 Lake Placid Two-man European Championships 1967 Igls Four-man 1967 Igls Two-man 1968 St. Moritz Four-man 1969 Cervinia Two-man 1970 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man

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]