Ivan Patzaichin, the most decorated Romanian canoeist of all times. He took part in all major competitions between 1968 and 1984, including five consecutive Olympics, and won seven Olympic and 22 world championship medals, including four Olympic gold medals

Ivan Patzaichin is a Romanian canoe racing coach and retired sprint canoeist. He took part in all major competitions between 1968 and 1984, including five consecutive Olympics, and won seven Olympic and 22 world championship medals, including four Olympic gold medals. This makes him the most decorated Romanian canoeist of all times.^[1] He later worked as a canoeing coach, attending five more Olympics in this capacity.^[4] In 1990 he was awarded the Olympic Order, and in 2006 a nationwide poll included him on the list 100 Greatest Romanians of all time.

Patzaichin was born in a Russian Lipovan family in the village Mila 23. His father Vicol was a fisherman and his mother Alexandra was a dressmaker. He took up canoeing in early age inspired by his grandfather,^[5] and decided to pursue a canoeing career after watching a TV broadcast of two canoers from his village, Vicol Calabiciov and Serghei Covaliov, winning the 1966 world title in doubles. In 1967, aged 18, he moved to the capital Bucharest, where he joined the club Dinamo.

Already in 1968 he was included to the national team and won an Olympic gold medal, rowing with Covaliov. At the 1972 Olympics, Patzaichin broke his oar and placed last in the singles heats. Yet he managed to finish the race,^[6] paddling with a piece of wood that he removed from the floor of his canoe, and was included to the repechage.^[7] He won the repechage and the final race. In the doubles he again teamed with Covaliov and placed second, just 0.03 seconds behind the winners.^[8]
Patzaichin spent his entire career with Dinamo, first as a trainee and competitor, rowing 4000–5000 km per year in his prime,^[4] and then as a coach. His most famous trainees are Olympic champions Florin Popescu and Mitica Pricop.

A statue of Patzaichin is installed outside of the Dinamo main office.^[4] Besides canoeing he also founded the association Ivan Patzachin – Mila 23 and launched the national project Rowmania aiming to promote heritage tourism and other outdoor activities.^[3] Patzaichin has his own line of clothing made of natural products.^[4]
In 1976 Patzaichin married Georgiana, a woman he met in August 1975. They have a daughter Ivona Beatrice (born c. 1979), who works at the National Commission of Hospital Accreditation.

Awards and honors

• Silver Olympic Order (1990)
• Order of Faithful Service (2000)
• Order of Sports Merit (Romanian: Meritul Sportiv, 2008)
• Military rank Brigadier General (1 December 2004)
• Nihil Sine Deo (2010)
  
  
  
  

Gheorghe Zamfir is a Romanian pan flute (nai) musician. He is known as "The Master of the Pan Flute"

Gheorghe Zamfir is a Romanian pan flute (nai) musician.
Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of nai, of 20 pipes to 22, 25, 28 and 30 pipes to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight overtones (additionally to the fundamental tone) from each pipe by changing the embouchure.
He is known as "The Master of the Pan Flute".

Zamfir came to the public eye when he was approached by Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier, who extensively researched Romanian folk music in the 1960s. The composer Vladimir Cosma brought Zamfir with his pan flute to Western European countries for the first time in 1972 as the soloist in Cosma's original music for the movie Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire. This was very successful,^{[citation needed]} and since then, he has been used as soloist in movie soundtracks by composers Francis Lai, Ennio Morricone and many others. Largely through television commercials where he was billed as "Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute", he introduced the folk instrument to a modern audience and revived it from obscurity.
In 1966, Zamfir was appointed conductor of the "Ciocîrlia Orchestra", one of the most prestigious state ensembles of Romania, destined for concert tours abroad. This created the opportunity for composition and arranging. In 1969, he left Ciocîrlia and started his own taraf (small band) and in 1970 he had his first longer term contract in Paris. Zamfir discovered the much greater freedom for artistic adventure. His taraf consisted of: Ion Drăgoi (violin), Ion Lăceanu (flutes), Dumitru Fărcaș (tarogato), Petre Vidrean (double bass) and Tony Iordache (cymbalum) all number 1 soloists in their country. This taraf made some excellent recordings (CD Zamfir a Paris).^{[citation needed]} He changed the composition of the band soon after: Efta Botoca (violin), Marin Chisar (flutes), Dorin Ciobaru and Pavel Cebzan (clarinet and tarogato), Petre Vidrean (bass) and Pantelimon Stînga (cymbalum). It is said that this change was made to increase the command of Zamfir and have more artistic freedom.^{[citation needed]} A turning point was the recording of Zamfir's composition "Messe pour la Paix" (Philips).^{[citation needed]} His taraf joined a choir and a symphonic orchestra. This was evidence of the growing ambition.^{[citation needed]} While the Philips recordings of that time were rather conservative, Zamfir preached revolution in the concert halls with daring performances.^{[citation needed]} Some^[who?] say that this short period was the highlight of his career. In 1977, he recorded "The Lonely Shepherd" with James Last. Zamfir put himself on the world map and since then his career became highly varied, hovering over classical repertoire, easy listening and pop music.

Zamfir's big break in the English-speaking world came when the BBC religious television programme "The Light of Experience" adopted his recording of "Doina De Jale", a traditional Romanian funeral song, as its theme.^{[citation needed]} Popular demand forced Epic Records to release the tune as a single in 1976, and it climbed to number four on the UK charts.^{[citation needed]} It would prove to be his only UK hit single, but it helped pave the way for a consistent stream of album sales in Britain. His song "Summer Love" reached number 9 in South Africa in November 1976.^[3] In 1983, he scored a No. 3 hit on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart with "Blue Navajo," and several of his albums (including 1982's Romance and 1983's Childhood Dreams) have charted in Canada as well.

After nearly a decade-long absence, Zamfir returned to Canada in January 2006 for a seven-city tour with the Traffic Strings quintet. The program included a world premiere of Vivaldi's Four Seasons for PanFlute and string quintet arranged by Lucian Moraru, jazz standards, and well-known favourites.

In 2009, Zamfir was sampled by Animal Collective in the song "Graze" on their EP Fall Be Kind.
In 2012, Zamfir performed at the opening ceremony of the 11th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania.