Eleven Romanian athletes with visual and locomotor disabilities took Romania to the podium in paraclimbing competitions this season. They claimed a total of 17 medals at the World Cup in Salt Lake City (USA), the Paraclimbing Master Imst (Austria), and the Paraclimbing World Cup in Villars (Switzerland).

Cosmin Candoi became the new World Cup champion, achieving at the same time a triple performance: 3 competitions, 3 gold medals. Ionela Grecu also won 2 medals - gold in Imst and silver in Villars, in the Women B3 category for visually impaired athletes.

At the World Cup in Salt Lake City, which took place on May 23-26, Cosmin Candoi won gold in the B3 category, Răzvan Nedu finished second and Alex Benchea claimed bronze in the B1 category, and Valentin Moise won the bronze medal in the B2 category.

Then, the Romanian athletes continued to score major victories in Austria and Switzerland, from where they returned with 13 more medals.

At the Paraclimbing Master Imst (July 2-3), all 10 participating athletes brought a medal to the team. In total, there were 2 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze medals.

In the B3 category, Cosmin Candoi won the gold again, and Robert Al-Radi was on the third step of the podium. Athletes in category B3 have between 2/60 and 6/60 visual acuity and a visual field between 5% and 20%.

Meanwhile, in the B1 category, Răzvan Nedu won silver and 17-year-old Angelo Simionescu finished in 3rd place. In the B2 category, Valentin Moise climbed to 2nd place. At the same time, in the RP2 category of athletes with limited abilities, Liviu Matei obtained 3rd place.

In the women's event, the climbing wall at Paraclimbing Master Imst brought Ionela Grecu the first gold medal in the B3 category. Adriana Tofan won the silver medal in the women's B1 category, while Ariana Pero took 3rd place. Meanwhile, at her first competition, Alina Dinuță climbed the podium in 2nd place in category B2.

Then, at the Paraclimbing World Cup in Villars, Cosmin Candoi won his third gold medal this season, while Răzvan Nedu was in 3rd place in the B1 category. In addition, Ionela Grecu claimed a silver medal.

All athletes of the National Paraclimbing Team are part of the Climb Again Center, a non-governmental organization that organizes free sessions of climbing therapy, physical therapy and psychological counselling for children and young people with disabilities.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Asociatia Climb Again)