Moldova at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Moldova sent a delegation to participate at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the Eastern European's country sixth appearance in the Summer Paralympic Games since their debut twenty years prior at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. Moldova sent three athletes to these Games, shot put thrower Oxana Spataur, powerlifter Larisa Marinenkova and short-distance swimmer Alexandr Covaliov. Spataur qualified on merit and Covaliov and Marienkova were invited by the Bipartite Commission. Neither Spataur or Covaliov advanced out of the heats of their events and Marienkova finished seventh in the women's 73kg powerlifting category.

Moldova at the
2016 Summer Paralympics
IPC codeMDA
NPCParalympic Committee of Moldova
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors3 in 3 sports
Flag bearer Larisa Marinenkova
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Paralympics appearances
Other related appearances
 Soviet Union (1988)
 Unified Team (1992)

Background

Moldova first appeared in Paralympic competition at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. They have competed in every Summer Paralympic Games since, making Rio de Janeiro its sixth appearance at a Summer Paralympiad.[1] They have never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games,[1] but have won two medals (one each in athletics and table tennis) at the Summer Paralympics.[2] The 2016 Summer Paralympics were held from 7–18 September 2016 with a total of 4,328 athletes representing 159 National Paralympic Committees taking part.[3] Shot put thrower Oxana Spataur, powerlifter Larisa Marinenkova and short-distance swimmer Alexandr Covaliov were the three athletes selected by Moldova to compete in Rio de Janeiro.[2] They travelled to Brazil on 2 September.[4] Marinenkova was selected as the flag bearer for the parade of nations during the opening ceremony.[5]

Disability classification
Main article: Disability sport classification

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.[6][7] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.[8]

Athletics
Main article: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Oxana Spataru was 18 years old at the time of the Rio Summer Paralympic Games and the youngest athlete to compete for Moldova.[9] These Rio Summer Games were her first time competing in the Paralympic movement.[4] Spataru's disability is congenital; she is of short stature, measuring 1.23 m (4.0 ft) tall,[10] and took up powerlifting at the age of 14.[9] She qualified for the Paralympics by finishing fourth in the women's shot put competition at the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships.[9] Spataru trained for the Paralympics in a gymnasium at a specialist school.[10] On 11 September, Spataru participated in the women's shot put F40 category.[11] She recorded marks of 4.02 m (13.2 ft), 3.93 m (12.9 ft) and 3.88 m (12.7 ft),[11] the first of which was a personal best for Spataru and it ranked her tenth and last out of all the competing athletes.[12]

Field Events — Women
Athlete Events Result Rank
Oxana Spataru Shot Put F40 4.02 10 PB[12]

Powerlifting
Main article: Powerlifting at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

At the age of 39, Larisa Marinenkova was the oldest athlete to represent Moldova at the Rio Paralympics. She was competing in the Paralympic Games for the third time, having represented Moldova at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[13] Marinenkvoa has been affected by cerebral palsy since childhood, resulting in permanent muscle weakness, and works as an engineer at a state-owned enterprise.[14] She attained qualification to the Games by the Paralympic Committee of Moldova being granted an invitation for Marinenkova by the Bipartite Commission to allow her to compete after she did not meet the qualifying standards for powerlifting.[13] Marinenkova said that she had "great expectations" for her performance and she wanted to improve on her non-finish from the 2012 Paralympic Games.[14] On 12 September, she competed in the women's 73kg powerlifting category. Marinenkova failed to lift 80 kg (180 lb) at her first attempt but succeeded on the second try. She lifted 90 kg (200 lb) on her third attempt and this put her seventh and last out of all competitors.[15]

Women
Athlete Event Result Rank
Larisa Marinenkova –73 kg 90.0 7[15]

Swimming
Main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Alexandr Covaliov was taking part in his first Summer Paralympic Games and he was the sole male athlete to compete on Moldova's behalf in Rio. He was aged 32 at the time of the Games.[16] He lost his vision in an accident that burned his eyes at the age of 16 and he took up swimming to aid in his recovery.[4] Covaliov qualified for the Paralympics by receiving an invitation from the Bipartite Commission.[17] On 12 September, he took part in the men's 50 metres freestyle S11 category.[18] Assigned to heat one, Covaliov completed the race in 33.30 seconds, which put him eighth and last out of all swimmers in his heat. As only the top eight advanced to the final, he was eliminated because he came sixteenth and last overall.[18] Three days later, Covaliov participated in the men's 100 metre freestyle S11 class and was drawn to heat two.[19] He finished seventh and last with a time of 1 minute and 18.06 seconds. This ranked Covaliov 13th and last overall and his competition came to an end since the competition's format allowed only the top four in its two heats to progress to the final.[19]

Men
Athletes Event Heat Final
Time Rank Time Rank
Alexandr Covaliov 50 m freestyle S11 33.30 16 Did not qualify[18]
100 m freestyle S11 1:18.06 13 Did not advance[19]
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See also

References
  1. "Moldova at the Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  2. "Trei sportivi vor reprezenta Moldova la Jocurile Paralimpice de la Rio". Timpul de dimineață (in Romanian). 30 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. "Rio 2016". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. Gutu, Marina (1 September 2016). "Sportivii moldoveni sunt încurajaţi înainte de a pleca la Rio" (in Romanian). Canal 2. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  5. "Full list of flag bearers for opening ceremony of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Paralympic News Service. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. McGarry, Andrew (3 September 2008). "Paralympics categories explained". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  7. "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  8. "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBC Sport. 28 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  9. "Oxana Spătaru vrea să aducă o medalie de la Jocurile Paralimpice de la Rio" (in Romanian). Publika TV. 31 August 2016. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  10. "Om mic cu scopuri inalte. Povestea Oxanei, tanara de 18 ani, din Hancesti, care a reprezentat tara noastra la Jocurile Paralimpice de la Rio – Video" (in Romanian). ProTV Chișinău. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  11. Burdujan, Radu (12 September 2016). "Rio 2016: Oxana Spătaru, pe locul zece la proba de aruncare a greutății" (in Romanian). Agora. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  12. "Sportiva din Moldova Oxana Spătaru s-a clasat pe locul zece la Paralimpiadă" (in Romanian). Sputnik. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  13. "Paralimpiada de la Rio: a fost desemnat portdrapelul Republicii Moldovaфото" (in Romanian). Sputnik. 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. Viţu, Valeria (7 September 2016). ""Mi-aș dori ca Jocurile Paralimpice să fie depolitizate" Interviu Audio" (in Romanian). RFI România. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. "Powerlifting: Women's −73 kg — Final Results" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. 12 September 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  16. "Alexandr Covaliov – Athlete Bio". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  17. "Calculation of Swimming Slots for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  18. "Schwimmen, 50 m Freistil, S11 – sehbehindert, Männer" (in German). Sportschau. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  19. "Schwimmen, 100 m Freistil, S11 – sehbehindert, Männer" (in German). Sportschau. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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