Valentin Preda

Valentin "Vali" Preda (born May 24, 1985 in Brăila) is a Romanian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[2] He represented his nation Romania at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has also claimed multiple Romanian national records in the breaststroke (both 100 and 200 m), and medley relays (both 200 and 400 m). Preda is a former member of the swimming team for the Louisville Cardinals, and a graduate of exercise science at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky.

Valentin Preda
Personal information
Full nameValentin Preda
Nickname(s)Vali[1]
Nationality Romania
Born (1985-05-24) 24 May 1985
Brăila, Romania
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClubSCM Piteşti
College teamUniversity of Louisville (U.S.)
CoachArthur Albeiro (U.S.)

Preda competed for Romania in two swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Leading up to the Games, he scored an eighteenth-place time in 1:02.16 (100 m breaststroke) to beat the FINA B-cut (1:03.72) at the European Championships five months earlier in Eindhoven, Netherlands.[3][4] In the 100 m breaststroke, Preda fired off a 1:01.77 to drop his own Romanian record on a tech body suit by 0.11 of a second and tie for third with Sweden's Jonas Andersson in heat five, but failed to advance to the semifinals, finishing thirty-first overall in the prelims.[1][5] Nearly a week later, Preda teamed up with Răzvan Florea, Ioan Gherghel, and Norbert Trandafir in the 4 × 100 m medley relay. Swimming the breaststroke leg in heat one, Preda recorded a split of 1:01.41, before the Romanian foursome finished the race in fifth position and thirteenth overall with a new national record of 3:38.00.[6][7]

References
  1. "Vali Preda Swims First Olympic Race". Louisville Cardinals. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Valentin Preda". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  3. "Olympic Cut Sheet – Men's 100m Breaststroke" (PDF). Swimming World Magazine. p. 27. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  4. "2008 LEN European Aquatics Championships (Eindhoven, Netherlands) – Men's 100m Breaststroke Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  5. "Men's 100m Breaststroke Heat 5". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  6. "Men's 4 × 100m Medley Relay Heat 1". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  7. "Vali Preda Helps Set New Romanian Record in 4×100 Medley Relay". Louisville Cardinals. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.


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