Dan Grecu
Romanian artistic gymnast (1950–2024)
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Dănuț Grecu (26 September 1950 – 12 December 2024) was a Romanian artistic gymnast who specialised in rings. In 1974 he became Romania’s first world champion in artistic gymnastics and was named Romanian Athlete of the Year.[2][3] Grecu competed at the 1972, 1976, and 1980 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1976;[1] he had to withdraw from the 1980 Olympics due to a muscle tear sustained on the rings.[2] In addition to his 1974 gold medal he won two world and two European medals on the rings.[4][5] He retired due to injuries to his shoulder and biceps sustained in training while preparing to the 1980 Olympics.[6]
| Dan Grecu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Grecu in 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Dănuț Grecu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 September 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 December 2024 (aged 74) Brașov, Romania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented |  Romania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | CS Dinamo București[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach(es) | Octav Ungureanu Mircea Badulescu[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1980 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Grecu was one of five siblings of a border guard officer. At the age of 12 he took up gymnastics because he loved climbing anything hanging around, like ropes and tree branches.[6] After retiring from competitions Grecu had a long career as gymnastics coach with the national team.[2] Grecu was married to a fellow gymnastics coach Elena Grecu. They had two children: a daughter Simona and a son Bogdan.[6]
Grecu died on 12 December 2024, at the age of 74.[7]
