Romanian sprint canoer Ion Geantă represented the national team in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1980 Geantă competed in the K4 1,000 metres event at the Moskva Olympics with compatriots Mihai Zafiu, Vasile Dîba, and Nicușor Eșanu. Romania had a dreadful start to the competition, finishing sixth out of seven teams in their heat, with them heading to the repêchage to avoid elimination. They then turned things around, winning the repêchage to advance to the final. In a very close race, Romania and Bulgaria seemingly crossed the finish line together, finishing behind the East German team. The photo finish then showed that Romania had won silver by a margin of only 0.11 seconds. Four years later Geantă paired with Alexandru Dulău in the K2 1,000 metres at the Los Angeles Olympics. After once again progressing via the repêchage, the Romanian team were then eliminated in the semi-finals.
Romania