Pavel Rugea: For almost 20 years. I have been a coach at this club since 1970 and I became the chief coach in 1978. Before '70, I was for six years an athlete on the national weightlifting team and achieved fairly good results in domestic contests; however, I had bad luck in an international contest, when I had an accident. On the other hand, I had extraordinary achievements as a coach.
R.J.: Tell us about your achievements as a coach.P.R.: The weightlifting section of Club Rapid has children's, junior and senior groups: about 40 people, boys and girls, with an average age close to 20 years. I must say that we have the best women's weightlifting team in the country. Two of our girls took fifth place at the European Championships. They are Mihaela Geambasu - who is on the national team, and Ana Toader. As for the boys, what can I say! Since 1992, they have earned 28 medals for Club Rapid, mainly in international contests. Teodor Marinel and Tuinea Daniel were invited at the Barcelona Olypics in 1992, and the latter came in on eighth place. Eugen Cristea, Sazss Carman and Florin Vlad also obtained world champion and vice-champion titles.
R.J.: How did you manage to build this team of champions? P.R.: It was very difficult. This sport does not attract sponsorship as easily as football, for instance. Fortunately, we had the permanent support of Mr. Zaharia, without whom it would have been much more difficult to survive. Now, however, we have begun cooperating with CFR - SA and we hope thing will change for the better. I want to insist on the fact that the hand lent to us by CFR - SA, through president Viorel Simut, is appreciated by all of us, coaches and athletes alike. I want to assure all our supporters that we will do our best to obtain ever better results.
R.J.: What was the
last championship your weightlifters returned from with victory?
P.R.: The last time was the World Junior Championship in the United States (Georgia) three months ago, where Vlad Florin lifted 215 kg and became world vice-champion. He was very close to becoming champion. Also there, Stoica Stanel cam in fourth.
R.J.: What other contests are on your agenda?P.R.: On September 18, the European Youth Championship begins in Warsaw, due to be attended by Vlad Florin, Stoica Stanel and Sazss Carman. Also, between October 5-8, we will attend the finals of the National Senior Championship (both men's and women's), and the team championship.
R.J.: How does the training proceed?P.R.: Every week, we have the following training agenda: two times a day - Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and once a day - Thursday and Saturday. One training session takes two hours. I rely on each athlete's innate qualities and we do a lot of training: speed, endurance, jumping, etc. We only do specific training one month before the contests. Until then, we focus on preparation exercises, which are very helpful. I would like to say one thing here: many people see weightlifting as a very difficult sport. But a study by the Lia Manoliu Center for Sports Research and Medicine revealed that weightlifting is the 11th most difficult sport, in terms of effort and intensity. Rugby, cycling and swimming, for instance, are much more demanding.
R.J.: What are your future plans?R.B.: Now I hope that, in two or three months, the CFR - SA will help up equip our training facility to European standards and we will continue our training for the Sidney Olympics in 2000. The weightlifting section of Club Rapid will certainly have representatives there who will aim for the top places.
Interviewed by Oana Tudorascu
