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Elisabeta Lipă facts for kids

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Elisabeta Lipă
Elisabeta Lipă 1992cr.jpg
Lipă in 1992
Personal information
Birth name Elisabeta Oleniuc
Born 26 October 1964 (1964-10-26) (age 60)
Candesti, Botosani County, Romania
Height 1.83 m
Weight 80 kg
Minister of Youth and Sport
In office
17 November 2015 – 4 January 2017
President Klaus Iohannis
Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș
Preceded by Gabriela Szabo
Succeeded by Marius-Alexandru Dunca
Sport
Sport Rowing
Club CS Dinamo București
Medal record
Representing  Romania
Olympic Games
Gold 1984 Los Angeles Double sculls
Gold 1992 Barcelona Single sculls
Gold 1996 Atlanta Eight
Gold 2000 Sydney Eight
Gold 2004 Athens Eight
Silver 1988 Seoul Double sculls
Silver 1992 Barcelona Double sculls
Bronze 1988 Seoul Quadruple sculls
World Championships
Gold 1989 Bled Single scull
Silver 1985 Hazewinkel Double sculls
Silver 1986 Nottingham Double sculls
Silver 1987 Copenhagen Double sculls
Silver 1989 Bled Double sculls
Silver 1991 Vienna Single sculls
Silver 1991 Vienna Double sculls
Silver 1994 Indianapolis Coxless pairs
Silver 2003 Milan Eights
Bronze 1982 Lucerne Quadruple sculls
Bronze 1983 Duisburg Double sculls
Bronze 1984 Montreal Eights
Bronze 1994 Indianapolis Eights

Elisabeta Lipă (Romanian pronunciation: [elisaˈbeta ˈlipə]; née Oleniuc on 26 October 1964) is a retired rower and government official from Romania. She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics, winning five gold, two silver and one bronze medals. She holds the record amongst rowers for the most years between gold medals, at 20 years.

Since 2004, Lipă has served in various government positions including Minister of Youth and Sport under Dacian Cioloș from 2015 to 2017. Since 2009, she has also served as the president of the Romanian Rowing Federation and the Dinamo București Sports Club.

Career

Elisabeta Lipă 2004 Romanian stamp
Lipă on a 2004 Romanian stamp

Lipă made her debut at the age of 19 at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where she won her first gold medal in the double sculls event. She won her most recent gold medal in the eight at the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004. She is the only person to win a gold medal in the two premiere rowing events: the single scull and the eight. She is also one of very few women to win a gold medal in both a sculling (two oars per person) and a sweep (one oar per person) event. (Canada's Kathleen Heddle and Marnie McBean accomplished the same, sculling and sweep gold medals, in 1992 and 1996. Also, Romanians Simona Radis and Ancuta Bodnar, gold in double sculls in Tokyo, 2020, and eight, in Paris 2024.)

In 2004, she became the first female rower and the second rower overall to compete at six Olympics. This was first done by Czechoslovak rower Jiří Pták (cox) in 1992 and equalled in 2008 by Canadian Lesley Thompson (cox), Estonian Jüri Jaanson, and Australian James Tomkins.

Later life

In 2008 she was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne and became an honorary citizen of her native town Siret. From November 2015 to January 2017, she served as the Romanian Minister of Youth and Sport in the Cioloș Cabinet.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Elisabeta Lipă para niños

  • List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games
  • List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
  • List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
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