Darius Dobre, a young 18-year-old judoka who lives in the city of Ștefănești-Argeș, achieved a top European level performance this month.
Darius Dobre already has several international performances PHOTO personal archive
Darius Dobre (18 years old), who has been doing judo for eight years and is now registered at CSM Pitesti, won the gold medal at the European Junior Cup in Sarajevo, defeating extremely well-rated opponents along the way. Last year, Darius won the bronze medal at the U23 European Judo Championships in Germany.
To reach this level, the pace of training is very intense. Darius has two practices a day, six days a week, and a practice lasts about two hours.
Biggest dream, an Olympic medal
In the final in Sarajevo, Darius Dobre defeated a Turkish athlete who was considered the favorite of the competition in the 100 kilogram category, where the two competed. Only Darius overturned the paper's calculations, achieving a prestigious victory. And the victory was all the more beautiful for Darius as his Turkish opponent had defeated him in two competitions in the past.
“Preparation for the European Cup in Sarajevo started in January, when I was in the camp at Poiana Brasov. The most difficult opponent was the one in the final, a Turkish judoka, who beat me at the European Youth Olympic Festival in the semi-final and in the first round at the European Junior Championships last year”said Darius Dobre for “Adevărul”.
Darius (second from the left), 1st place at the European Judo Cup PHOTO personal archive
His passion for judo was born and took shape step by step with the help of his father, who guided him towards this sport. Moreover, it must be said that Darius Dobre's father also practiced judo in his youth.
And the road to success and medals is not an easy one.
“I train six days a week, twice a day. The performance I am most attached to is 3rd place at the European Youth Championships, a successful performance last year when I managed to beat opponents I never thought I could beat. And this success gave me a lot of self-confidence. My biggest dream is an Olympic medal, my childhood dream, and I will not give up until I achieve my dream”confesses Darius Dobre.
Romania has had judo representatives at ten editions of the Olympic Games so far. And in the men's category, Romania won two Olympic bronze medals, both at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, through Mircea Frăticu and Mihai Cioc.
And, at how well Darius Dobre is evolving step by step, it is not at all excluded that he will be one of the medalists at the 2028 Olympic Games. Especially since four years from now the Olympic Games will also be in Los Angeles, where Romanian male judo has won the only medals so far.
