Rodica Arba (née Puşcatu; born 5 May 1962) is a retired Romanian rower. She competed at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympics and won two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. At the world championships she won four gold, one silver and two bronze medals between 1981 and 1987, mostly in coxless pairs.[2]

Rodica Arba
Arba in the 1980s
Personal information
Born5 May 1962 (1962-05-05) (age 62)[1]
Petricani, Romania
Height179 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight75 kg (165 lb)[1]
Sport
SportRowing
ClubCS Dinamo București[2]
Medal record
Representing  Romania
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1980 Moscow Eight
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Coxless pair
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Coxless pair
Silver medal – second place 1988 Seoul Eight
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1981 Munich Coxless pair
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Lucerne Coxed four
Silver medal – second place 1983 Dusiburg Coxless pair
Gold medal – first place 1985 Hazewinkel Coxless pair
Gold medal – first place 1986 Nottingham Coxless pair
Gold medal – first place 1987 Copenhagen Coxless pair
Gold medal – first place 1987 Copenhagen Eight

Arba was born in 1962 in Petricani, Neamț County, Romania.[1] She cites Sanda Toma as her rowing inspiration.[3]

She went to the 1980 Summer Olympics as a member of the Romanian women's eight, and won a bronze medal with the team.[4] In the 1981 season, she competed in the coxless pair with team member Elena Horvat, and they won bronze at the 1981 World Rowing Championships at Oberschleißheim near Munich, Germany.[5] At the 1982 World Rowing Championships, she was a member of the women's coxed four team that won a bronze medal.[6] At the 1983 World Rowing Championships, Horvat and Arba won silver in the women's pair.[7] The same crew won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[8][9] She gained the 1985 World Rowing Championships title with Horvat,[10] and won the 1986 and 1987 World Rowing Championships with Olga Homeghi.[11][12] At the 1987 World Rowing Championships, she also competed with the women's eight, and won a second title at that event.[13]

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, Arba won gold in the women's pair with Homeghi, and silver with the women's eight.[1]

After the Seoul Olympics, Arba became pregnant, and this finished her rowing career. Her son, Iulian Arba, was born on 20 July 1989; this was to be her only child. He later competed for Romania in rowing, and moved to elite level in 2009 when he competed at the 2009 European Rowing Championships with the men's eight. Her son accidentally electrocuted himself while fishing in 2015.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rodica Arba-Puşcatu". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b Rodica Arba-Puscatu. Romanian Olympic Committee
  3. ^ "Rodica Arba" (in German). Munzinger Archiv GmbH. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Romania Rowing at the 1980 Moskva Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  5. ^ "(W2-) Women's Pair - Final". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Weltmeisterschaften (Damen - Teil 1)" (in German). Sport-komplett.de. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. ^ "(W2-) Women's Pair - Final". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Women's Coxless Pairs". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Women's Coxless Pairs". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  10. ^ "(W2-) Women's Pair - Final". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  11. ^ "(W2-) Women's Pair - Final". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  12. ^ "(W2-) Women's Pair - Final". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  13. ^ "(W8+) Women's Eight - Final". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  14. ^ Neag, Mirela (21 September 2015). "Disperare în viaţa dublei campioane olimpice Rodica Arba: "Nu-mi îngrop copilul!"". Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Iulian Arba". World Rowing Federation. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
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