Jump to content

Denis Vieru

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Denis Vieru
Vieru in 2024
Personal information
Born (1996-03-10) 10 March 1996 (age 28)
Chișinău, Moldova
OccupationJudoka
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Sport
Country Moldova
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍66 kg
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesBronze (2024)
World Champ.Bronze (2019, 2022)
European Champ.Gold (2023)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing  Moldova
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris ‍–‍66 kg
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Tokyo ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Tashkent ‍–‍66 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Montpellier ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Prague ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Sofia ‍–‍66 kg
World Masters
Silver medal – second place 2023 Budapest ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Jerusalem ‍–‍66 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Gold medal – first place 2019 Paris ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2019 Baku ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 Abu Dhabi ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Antalya ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Tbilisi ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Baku ‍–‍66 kg
Silver medal – second place 2021 Baku ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Paris ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Baku ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Tokyo ‍–‍66 kg
IJF Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2019 Antalya ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 Zagreb ‍–‍66 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Almada ‍–‍66 kg
Silver medal – second place 2018 Antalya ‍–‍66 kg
Silver medal – second place 2019 Zagreb ‍–‍66 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Budapest ‍–‍66 kg
European U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Tel Aviv ‍–‍66 kg
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Oberwart ‍–‍60 kg
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples ‍–‍66 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF16235
JudoInside.com27145
Updated on 28 July 2024

Denis Vieru (born 10 March 1996) is a Moldovan judoka who competes in the men's half-lightweight (66 kg) category. He competed in the men's 66 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, without winning a medal,[1] but he won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Career

[edit]

He rose to prominence after winning a gold medal at the European U23 Judo Championships in 2016, the first Moldovan to do so since Marcel Trudov in 2005.[2] Vieru won medals at a number of IJF Grand Prix and Grand Slam events in 2019, including Moldova's first Judo Grand Prix gold medal at the Antalya Grand Prix,[3] another gold at the Baku Grand Slam, and defeated 2016 European champion Vazha Margvelashvili to win gold at the Grand Slam Paris.[4] He also defeated Ranto Katsura of Japan to win a gold medal at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples, where he was the flag bearer for the Moldovan delegation in the opening ceremony,[5] and later also won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Judo Championships.[6]

Vieru's medal as well as his points from the 2019 summer's competitions were suspended for a while, while the Moldovan was investigated for use of doping.[7] However, Vieru and his advocates were able to prove that there was "neither will to doping, nor negligence" on the athlete's part, which meant that Vieru only received a three month suspension instead of the regular two years, and was able to keep his medal and his world ranking points. The documents about the events have been sealed from the public.[8]

At the 2021 Judo Grand Slam Abu Dhabi held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, he won the gold medal in his event.[9] He won the gold medal in his event at the 2022 Judo Grand Prix Almada held in Almada, Portugal.[10] Vieru became the 2023 European champion and as of May 2024 is also the world's top ranked judoka in his weight class (66 kg).[11]

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Judo Results Book" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ Denis Vieru – Aur la europenele de Judo U 23 (in Romanian). Olympic Committee of Moldova. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. ^ VIDEO - Denis Vieru makes history for Moldova. Eurosport. Published 5 April 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. ^ Victory for Moldova: Judoka Denis Vieru captured gold medal in -66kg Baku Grand Slam. Publika TV. Published 11 May 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. ^ Denis Vieru awarded gold at the Universiade. Published 8 July 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. ^ "2019 World Judo Championships –66 kg results". judolive01.lb.judobase.org. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  7. ^ Frandeboeuf, Antoine (23 November 2020). "Le Moldave Denis Vieru convaincu de dopage en 2019". L'Esprit du Judo (in French). Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Denis Vieru takes bronze at Europeans while suspected for doping use in 2019". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  9. ^ Houston, Michael (26 November 2021). "Olympic medallist Monteiro among winners on day one of IJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  10. ^ Burke, Patrick (28 January 2022). "Silva wins first title since doping ban at Portugal Grand Prix". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  11. ^ Cowen, Thea (14 May 2024). "THE FINAL PUSH". European Judo Union.
  12. ^ Eichler, Wolfgang (8 December 2023). "Tränen der Rührung". Judo Austria (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
[edit]