Laura Gabriela Badea-Cârlescu (née Badea on 28 March 1970) is a retired Romanian foil fencer, world champion in 1995, olympic champion in 1996 and european champion in 1996,1997, 2004.[3][2] After her retirement (23-year career at top-level fencing, winning 23 medals at the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships and Universiade) she became a fencing coach, then a sport administrator with numerous roles. She served as President of the Athletes Commission (2001-2005) for the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, Member of the Rules Commission of the International Fencing Federation, Director of Olympic Education of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (2005-2012), Director of Romanian Olympic Academy(2011-2017), Romanian Ambassador for Sports, Tolerance and Fair-Play at the Council of Europe (2004-2011), Member of the Science and Sports Council in Romania (2006-2009), Member of the Romanian Anti-Doping Agency, Vice-President of the Romanian Fencing Federation (2005-2011), President of the Romanian Fencing Federation (2017-2018), Member of the Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission at the European Olympic Committee, Member of the Executive Committee at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.

Laura Badea-Cârlescu
Badea-Cârlescu at the 1995 World Championships
Personal information
BornLaura Badea
(1970-03-28) 28 March 1970 (age 54)
Bucharest, Romania[1]
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Weight56 kg (123 lb; 8.8 st)
Sport
Weaponfoil
Handleft-handed
ClubCSA Steaua București[2]
Medal record
Women's fencing
Representing  Romania
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 1
World Championships 2 5 2
European Championships 4 4 2
Universiade 0 0 1
Total 7 10 6
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Foil Individual
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Foil Team
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Foil Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Athens Team foil
Gold medal – first place 1995 The Hague Foil
Silver medal – second place 1993 Essen Team foil
Silver medal – second place 1995 The Hague Team foil
Silver medal – second place 1997 Cape Town Team foil
Silver medal – second place 1998 La Chaux-de-Fonds Team foil
Silver medal – second place 2004 New York Team foil
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Lisbon Team foil
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Havana Team foil
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Limoges Foil
Gold medal – first place 1997 Gdansk Foil
Gold medal – first place 2004 Copenhagen Foil
Gold medal – first place 2004 Copenhagen Team foil
Silver medal – second place 1994 Krakow Foil
Silver medal – second place 1999 Bolzano Team foil
Silver medal – second place 2000 Madeira Team foil
Silver medal – second place 2002 Moscow Foil
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Linz Foil
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Bolzano Foil
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Sicily Foil Team

Personal life

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Badea was born in Bucharest in 1970, the youngest of four children.[4] She first played handball and track and field before turning to fencing at age 13 under Rodica Popescu, a coach at CSS 1 Bucharest, then Maria Vicol.[5] A fan of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, she immediately took to the sport. She later joined CSA Steaua București.

She graduated from the National Academy of Physical Education and Sport in 1995.[4] She obtained in 2003 a master in communication and human resources management from the University of Bucharest and in 2007 a master in sport management and marketing from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași.[4] She also holds a PhD in sport science on the subject of "Contributions to clarifying the relationship between motor intelligence and capacity for effort in high-level fencing" (“Contribuții la clarificarea raportului dintre inteligența motrică și capacitatea de efort în scrima de performanță”).

During her career Carlescu-Badea was a superior officer in the Romanian Army (1988-2004), rising to the rank of colonel. Badea married sabre fencer Adrian Cârlescu in 1999. The couple have a daughter, Maria.

Career

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Badea took part in her first Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, where she took the team bronze medal along with Reka Szabo, Elisabeta Tufan, Claudia Grigorescu, and Ozana Dumitrescu. Romania went to earn the silver medal in the 1993 World Championships in Essen, then the gold medal in the 1994 World Championships in Athens. A year later, Badea won her first major individual title with a gold medal in the World Championships in The Hague; she also won a silver medal in the team event. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta Badea won the gold medal after defeating Valentina Vezzali of Italy and became the first and only Romanian woman fencer Olympic champion.[5] In the team event, Romania was defeated by Italy in the final and took the silver medal.

She won gold medal in the European Championships in 1996, 1997 and 2004 individual and also, in 2004 in the team event.

Badea retired from competition in 2004. In 2013, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Fencing Federation.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Laura Gabriela Carlescu Badea. Romanian Olympic Committee
  2. ^ a b c "Laura Gabriela Badea-Cârlescu Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  3. ^ "1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, United States – Fencing" Archived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved 7 June 2008)
  4. ^ a b c International Fencing Federation (ed.). "Cârlescu-Cadea, Laura (ROU)". Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b Ionuț Tătaru (15 June 2012). "Laura Badea – De la fascinația pentru Cei trei muschetari, la aurul olimpic". Antena 3.
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