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The Romanian Invictus team will start on Sunday, with the "VeteRUN" event, its training for the fifth Invictus Games, the Defense Staff said in a release.
The enlarged team will be presented on this occasion and a stand will be set up with the training equipment on display.
In 2020, team Romania will participate for the third time in the Invictus Games - which will be held in Zuiderpark in The Hague - alongside another 18 nations: Afghanistan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine.
The Romanian servicemen will train in eight individual sports disciplines (archery, athletics, indoor rowing, swimming, powerlifting, cycling, long jump and disc throwing), plus a team sport (sitting volleyball), the release said.
According to the cited source, the 58 wounded servicemen who make up Romania's Invictus team are as follows: Sgt. 1st. Class (ret) Daniel Porumb, Sgt. 1st. Class Ionut Claudiu Butoi, WO3 Valentin Popa, Sgt. 1st. Class Marius Iovi, Brig. gen. (res.) Dorin Petrut, Col. Augustin-Nicusor Pegulescu, Lt. Col. Laurentiu Serban, Second Lt. (ret.) Marius Apostol, Sgt. Maj. (ret.) Gheorghe-Florin Vuta, Sgt. Maj. (ret.) Costel Stanciu, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Eugen Manaila, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Florin Bolovan, Sgt. Maj. Ionel Bida, Sgt. Maj. Vasile Zbanca, Sgt. Maj. Florin Boc, Sgt. Maj. Dumitru-Nicolae Paraschiva, Sgt. Maj. Costinel Slaniceanu, Sgt. Maj. Irinel Matei, Sgt. Maj. Emil-Florin Cojocaru, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Catalin Olteanu, Sgt. Maj. Marius Bertoni Taifas, Captain 3rd rank Eugen Valentin Patru, Captain 3rd rank Marcel Neagu, Maj. Danut Nicola, Sgt. Maj. Mihai Ion Toma, Sgt. Maj. Nicusor Bica, Sgt. Maj. Iulian Constantin Capatana, Sgt. 1st. Class Marian Nicula, Sgt. 1st. Class Marian Ilie Iordan, Sgt. 1st. Class Eduard Vlad Romila, Sgt. 1st. Class Petre-Cristian Stoica, MSgt. Bogdan Dragomir, MSgt. Angel Paul Ilovan, Captain 3rd rank Uta Valentin Ciolan, Captain 3rd rank Marius Cristian Canuci, Captain 3rd rank Dan Cornel Craciun, Captain Ciprian Iriciuc, Lt. Florin Oprea, Sgt. 1st. Class Doru Hamza, MSgt. Viorel Amzarescu, Captain 3rd rank Sergiu Ola, Lt.col. Nicolae Grigore, Sgt. Maj. Iosif Adrian Luca, Sgt. Maj. Nicolae Dan Spanu, Sgt. Maj. Mihai Sbughea, Sgt. Maj. Daniel Novac, Sgt. 1st. Class Ion-Cătalin Parvu, Sgt. 1st. Class Marian Muscaloiu, Sgt. 1st. Class Nicusor Palanga, Sgt. 1st. Class Marius Barbu, MSgt. Razvan Plai, MSgt. Cosmin Cuceanu, PFC Costica Victor Tarnovski, Captain 3rd rank Ionel Alexe, Captain 3rd rank Sergiu Roman, Sgt. Maj. Vasile Balasoiu, Sgt. 1st. Class Cristian Tudor, Sgt. Maj. Leon Burduhos.
"The Invictus Games is an international adaptive multi-sport event for the servicemen wounded in various military operations, aimed at helping with the recovery of these heroes and increasing respect for those who have been injured while serving under the national colors. The competitors are very different from Olympic or Paralympic athletes, because at the Invictus Games, it's almost irrelevant who wins a medal. It's the starting line, not the finish line that counts. At the Invictus Games, having reached the finish line already makes you a winner, and this is a much higher win than the joy of competing - you gain comradeship, challenge, you explore your own limits. The preparation and participation in the previous Invictus Games has been a real success for the physical and psychological recovery of the members of Romania's Invictus team," the release states.
