Dozens of young athletes from Olt County who climbed national and international podiums last year - along with their coaches - were celebrated on Tuesday by the County Council at the Gala of Sporting Excellence, an event designed to spotlight performance and inspire the next generation.

The evening's top distinction, a 3,000-RON award, went to table-tennis prodigy Bianca Toma, Balkan champion in the U11 category and national champion at U15 - a double achievement that has made her one of the brightest hopes of Romanian youth sport.

For County Council president Marius Oprescu, the gala is meant to be more than a ceremony; it is a message seeking to inspire new generations toward performance and bring children closer to sport.

'Our aim, every time - with both the Sports Gala and the Education Excellence Gala - is to inspire future generations and the children who, seeing how these young athletes reach the podium and are congratulated and awarded, will want to achieve performance themselves. We hope that through these events we bring children closer to sport, because sport means health,' Oprescu said.

A total of 67 athletes and coaches were honoured this year, representing table tennis, athletics, boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, judo and taekwondo, from clubs in Slatina and Caracal.

National U15 table tennis champion Bianca Toma spoke with the confidence of someone who knows exactly where she wants to go - and how hard she must work to get there. Trained by her mother, former elite athlete Angelica Toma, Bianca is now preparing for the European Championships.

'These awards and this support mean a lot to me, and next come the Under-13 and Under-15 European Championships, where I aim to win a medal - gold if possible - but I will work very hard. The competitors come from all European countries; from Hungary and Croatia there are several very good girls and I can compete with them. I will stay in Slatina as long as possible and as long as I am supported, I stay here because as long as I am doing well here, I remain here,' Bianca Toma said.

Another standout of the evening was table-tennis player Mircea Chirita, last year's national doubles champion, who trains twice a day for more than four hours to stay in top form.

'I was awarded for last year's results, all in table tennis at the national championships: first place in doubles, second place in singles and teams, and third place in the Romanian Cup. (...) Performance in general requires a lot of work, determination and support, especially from the family, especially when they are not with you. It requires a lot of support from them, both financial and moral. I train twice a day, around four to four-and-a -half hours,' Chirita said.

Boxing coach Luminita Turcin highlighted the results of two of her top athletes - both absent because they are currently training abroad with the national team.

'Our best athletes are not here today because they are national-team members. We have Tudoroiu Arun, a multiple national champion, a senior, who is now at a competition in Macedonia. And we also have a female athlete, Militaru Andreea, also a national-team member, a junior, currently in Italy at a training camp where test matches will be held at the end. They are preparing for the European Championships that will take place this year,' declared Luminita Turcin.

In Caracal, athletics coach Mirela Vanea continues to shape podium-level runners year after year. Among them is Alexandru Serban, last year's national champion in the 2,000-metre steeplechase.

'Every year, the athletes I train reach the podium at the national championships. Today, from the athletics section of the Caracal School Sports Club, Alexandru Serban was awarded - he is Romania's double champion in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the U18 national championships and the national school championships, and he won bronze in the 3,000-metre steeplechase in the U20 category. Also awarded was Sofia Kamen, who last year managed to take third place in the 1,500-metre event. Children come to athletics primarily because they see the results of their schoolmates, because they want to exercise - and I would highlight the involvement of parents. They first come because they see their colleagues winning medals and going to competitions. Then they train for pleasure, and the best of them want to achieve performance. Every year we manage to reach the podium at the national children's and junior championships,' coach Mirela Vanea told AGERPRES.

For Olt County, the gala was not just a celebration of medals but a reminder that performance is built on community: families who provide support, coaches who guide, institutions that recognize effort, and young athletes who dream big. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Cristina Matei; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)