This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

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Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

Part of UK in Romania

21st August 2012 Bucharest, Romania

The Romanian Paralympic Team is training for the Games

The following is a guest blog by Sally Wood-Lamont, President of the Romanian National Paralympic Committee.

The Romanian Paralympic team are currently at their Pre-Paralympic Games training camp in Knowsley, Liverpool. The cycling team, with athletes Eduard Novak, currently world champion in both the road and track events with Torok Imre a fellow cyclist from the Tusnaud Cycling club in Miercuri Ciuc,  together with his trainer Cristiano Valoppi and staff including mechanic, masseur and technical support have been there since 13 August.

Eduárd Novák, Para-cycling Track World Championship
Eduárd Novák, Romanian Paralympian

The rest of the team arrived on the 18th August. The National Paralympic Committee, Romania took advantage of a grant offered to all countries for the Paralympics and the Olympics by the London Organising Committee to hold a pre-training camp in Great Britain.

I chose Knowsley, Liverpool because it had all the top standard and accessible facilities for our team. I secured training for the cycling team at Manchester Velodrome, one of the best in Europe and also near Knowsley there are good challenging cycling routes with hills which they require to prepare for their road races at Brands Hatch on the 5th and 6th September. The course there is very technical in some areas, with difficult climbs, few flat sections and deceptively fast and features ‘off-camber’ corners that will test the riders.

Dacian Makszin, the table tennis player has the Greenbank Sports Centre, the swimmers have the Wavertree Leisure Centre,  10 and 12 mins from the hotel respectively and in both of these centres British team members train. Florin Cojoc, the athlete has the Kirby Sports College only up the road which has the most advanced track in UK for disabled sports.The Suites hotel has a swimming pool, gym, steam room and sauna and excellent food and accommodation. I wanted to make sure that the team had the best possible conditions for the London Paralympics…they have never been offered such an excellent opportunity before.

The team will remain in Knowsley until the 26th when they will all move to the Paralympic village in Stratford, London. The Paralympics Opening ceremony is on the 29 August and the closing is on the 9thSeptember.

For more information about the Romanian Paralympic Team, please contact Sally Wood-Lamont, President of the Romanian National Paralympic Committee, 0040737088518 , e-mail: swood@umfcluj.ro

7 comments on “The Romanian Paralympic Team is training for the Games

  1. This is the perfect blog for anyone who wants to know about this topic. The article is nice and it’s pleasant to read. I have known very important things over here. I admire the valuable advice you make available in your expertly written content. I want to thank you for this informative read; I really appreciate sharing this great.

  2. Many congratulations to the team, and to you, Sally – great achievements. Very sorry that I could not get to London.
    Liz

  3. Very best of luck to the Romania Paralympic Team and their President, Sally Wood-Lamont. If any team deserves medals, they do.

  4. Dear Raluca,
    Thank you for this lovely article on the Romanian Paralympic Team. I am the team coordinator for the volunteers allocated to help Romania and I am thrilled to inform you that the Romanian delegation will be well looked after at the London Games. The Stratford Village is absolutely amazing, the atmosphere so motivating and all the volunteers (a mixture of Romanian and British) are available and committed to support Romania throughout the Games. We will meet Sally on the 22nd and then the rest of them on the 26th. Wishing them all GOOD LUCK and HAI ROMANIA!

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About Raluca Bragarea

I joined the British Embassy in 2004, and have ever since enjoyed one of the most diverse and challenging jobs as a professional communicator, from partnering up with MTV Romania…

I joined the British Embassy in 2004, and have ever since
enjoyed one of the most diverse and challenging jobs as a professional
communicator, from partnering up with MTV Romania to promote the UN
anti-poverty agenda to handling Prince Charles’ press conference on a
hill top in picturesque Transylvania. One of the highlights working for
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been the introduction of an
internship scheme in the Embassy; we bring along students from various
backgrounds to help us deliver our objectives while they get a unique
opportunity to learn hands-on about diplomacy.
I am a former TV journalist, specialising in foreign affairs, and a
Fulbright scholar. I hold a Master of Arts in Information and
Communication Studies with California State University at Chico.
I am a major cafe latte fan and like to collect hand-painted icons.
My other hobbies include travelling and watching movies with friends,
particularly Quentin Tarantino’s. The latest memorable film I watched
was District 9, a superb science fiction with a social twist – anybody
seen it?

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