Radu Lefter (wrestler)
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| Native name | Radu Lefter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Moldovan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 31, 2001 Cobîlea, Șoldănești District, Moldova | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 97 kg (214 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country |  Moldova | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Freestyle wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Men's freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Radu Lefter (born 31 March 2001 in Cobîlea, Șoldănești District, Moldova) is a Moldovan freestyle wrestler in the 97 kg weight class. He won gold at the 2024 European U23 Championships in Baku—Moldova's first ever in freestyle—and silver at the 2023 U23 World Championships. He represented Moldova at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[1][2]
Career
Lefter began wrestling in Moldova and first gained international attention by winning bronze at the 2017 European Cadet Championships in Sarajevo.[3]
He won silver at the 2023 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Tirana after losing in the final to American wrestler Isaac Trumble.[4]
In May 2024, Lefter became the first Moldovan freestyle wrestler to win gold at the European U23 Championships, defeating Soslan Dzhagaev (neutral flag) in the final in Baku.[5][6]
He later qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics at the World Qualification Tournament held in Istanbul.[7]
At the Olympics in Paris, Lefter lost in the round of 16 to Poland’s Zbigniew Baranowski and finished 13th overall.[8]
In 2025, Lefter reached the quarterfinals of the European Championships and placed 8th.[9] He also participated in the 2025 Ranking Series events in Croatia and Albania, finishing 8th at both with a combined 3–5 match record.[10]
References
- ^ "LEFTER Radu – Athlete Profile". United World Wrestling.
- ^ "Лефтер, Раду – личные данные". Russian Wikipedia.
- ^ "Radu Lefter – Cadet bronze 2017". Russian Wikipedia. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Moldovan wrestler won silver medal at U‑23 Worlds". Moldpres. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Radu Lefter wins U23 European gold". Noi.md. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Historic U23 European champion – Moldova". United World Wrestling (Facebook). Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Moldovan wrestler Lefter qualifies for Olympic Games". MoldovaLive.md. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "97 kg freestyle results – Paris 2024". Olympics.com. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "2025 European Championships bracket". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "2025 Ranking Series results". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 5 August 2024.