The Romanian Olympic and Athletic Committee already has to prepare a few hundred thousand Euros to pay the awards of the Romanian athletes who won medals at the Olympic Games. The goal which was set prior to the beginning of the competition, of winning 9 medals, is very close after the first four days of the competition, and by the end of this week, the Romanian athletes may win at least three more medals. The fact that Romania is among the top 20 countries in terms of medals won is a reason to be proud, but also comes as a surprise, when considering that in comparison to the major players, in Romania investments in sports are small, as is the available pool of talent. The topic of prizes was also discussed in the government, and the prime minister reassured the athletes that they will get their well-deserved money: "All the prizes will be available because they have received plenty of encouragement, but little or no prizes at all. This time I want to keep our word and all the athletes who win medals will be paid".

Following a 36 year-old tradition, the Romanian female gymnasts climbed the podium again in the team finals. The gymnasts trained by Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang won the bronze medal in the team finals. Given the competition they had to face, and the fact that some of our gymnasts were as much as ten years older than their competitors, the result is commendable. Chief trainer Octavian Belu made a realistic assessment of the situation: ''I am not happy and the girls aren't either, Cătălina and Sandra already know the < < taste > > of a gold medal, and the others know what it's like to win first place. But that is all we could do today, I am happy that they focused better than they did in the elimination rounds, and what is left now is for the girls who entered the apparatuses finals to fully exploit the opportunity. You can never say you did every