The Romanian athletes who were awarded in the London Olympic games and returned home on Monday (August 12 ) were also awarded by the Presidency. They will receive financial prizes worth some EUR 5 million from the Government, said Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who also attended the award ceremony at the Cotroceni Palace.

“I wasn't easy to convince Finance Minister take such a sum from the country's coffers, but I wish we had won enough medals to give out EUR 50 million. Thank you for making me proud to be a Romanian,” said the PM at the ceremony. He said the number of medals Romania got at the Olympics is high considering the low investments in sport in the last few years.

“There has been a lot of talk about the number of medals, fewer than in other years, but given how little the authorities did for our sports people, it is a wonder we have so many. Please think about Rio 2016 now. Think fast about what we need to do for our athletes to put them on a level playing field in the upcoming competitions,” said the PM. He asked for a package of laws drafting Romania's strategy for the Olympic teams, saying he and the Government would take responsibility in front of the Parliament for the Sports Law. “The countries we're competing against invest a lot and know results do not come overnight,” he further said.

According to the existing legislation, the state pays out EUR 35,000 for gold medals, EUR 28,000 for silvers and EUR 21,000 for bronze medals. Athletes in 4th get EUR 14,000, 5th place, EUR 10,500, and 6th place, EUR 7,000. By law, these amounts can be doubled, which is what has happened every year, including this one. Apart from these prizes, the Romanian Olympic committee has its own awards for winning athletes. This year, they will also receive a Renault car.

Romania sent 103 athletes to the London Olympic games and ended ranking 27th, with nine medals, two of which were gold. This was the lowest number of gold medals since the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: presidency.ro)