TOPIC OF THE DAY | Paul Neagu, coach of the women’s Olympic bobsled team and Andreea Grecu, three-time European vice-champion in monobob and 2-person bobsled, invited in today’s show

Bobsleigh is a sport that brings Romanians international medals, despite the fact that our country does not even have a functional slope.

Paul Neagu from Constanta has dedicated 50 years to this winter sport, as an athlete and coach, and he reveals to us how he managed to achieve important results together with his students.

I’ve been watching you for a long time and I always ask you when you come to Constanța, do you have somewhere to train?

“During the summer, most of them are here, in Constanța, we have a training center in Constanța, where we have all the conditions to practice this sport and we feel good here, especially since Andreea is now from Constanța too”, we – said Paul Neagu.

I know you still go to Farul Stadium and run there.

“In order not to open this topic, I am really sad and outraged by the fact that at the moment in Constanța and it is an enormous city, you say the Black Sea, you say Constanța, it is known as one of the largest ports, billions walk, I don’t want to criticize, I don’t do politics either, but don’t have an athletics stadium here, in Constanța… Athletics is the king of sports. I come from athletics, Andreea comes from athletics. We are now put in the situation of going to Cumpăna, to go to Mangalia, on August 23 or even to make camps in Bucharest, because we do not have this possibility. And then I sit and think why something is not done, why these people who have the decision-making power to do something like this, don’t try to make a change, to say from today to tomorrow we will build an athletics stadium and now the reasons begin , but I’m not interested. We will move on even without this athletics stadium in Constanța, we train here and we will go to all the athletics competitions throughout the country in Craiova, Pitesti, Bacău, Bucharest,” said Paul Neagu.

Where are the Romanian bobsleigh nationals held? Through which countries?

“They have been held in Innsbruck for years. It is a not so demanding slope from a technical point of view, and the sled, the skeleton, and the bob are also possible. In December, starting after the date of December 19 until December 23, this year there will be again the Romanian Championships for luge, bobsleigh and skeleton, and this is how we do the National Championships”, said Paul Neagu.

You are from Constanta! It hurts me that you are registered at Steaua. Can’t something be done with a club in Constanța to have new athletes who will take medals for Constanța in bobsleigh?

“We tried! Since the establishment of CSM, this sports club of the City Hall, we have tried and it was not possible, but we say that we would have deserved it. I tried all the ways, it didn’t work. Various reasons were found”, says Paul Neagu.

You will find out more about this sport on “Topic of the Day” with Larisa Calistru, after the news at 14.00, from Paul Neagu, coach of the Romanian women’s bobsled team, and Andreea Grecu, three-time European vice-champion in monobob and 2-person bobsled, junior world champion and participant in 4 editions of the Winter Olympics.

Online editor: Doina Sîrbu