Stefan Florescu (1926/1927 – October 29, 2010) was an American

paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and table tennis player. He competed at the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games,
dinf.ne.jp, March 17, 1 ...

Biography

Florescu was born in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

. He attended

St. Ambrose University St. Ambrose University (SAU) is a private university, private Catholic university in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was founded as a school of commerce for young men in 1882. History Foundation St. Ambrose was founded as a seminary and scho ...

, graduating in 1951. In 1952 he became

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...

as a result of a swimming accident. He participated at the National Wheelchair Games in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in which Florescu won a free trip to participate at the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

along with his teammates, in 1964. Florescu participated at the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games,
dinf.ne.jp, March 17, 1 ...

, with participating in the

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

competition at the Paralympic Games. He was awarded the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the 25m freestyle prone complete class 1 event. Florescu scored 1:02:20. He also participated in the 25m freestyle supine complete class 1 event, being awarded the bronze medal. Florescu scored 0:57:20. He also participated in the 25m breaststroke complete class 1 event, being awarded the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

. Florescu scored 1:36:80. He participated in the

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

competition at the Paralympic Games. Florescu participated in the Singles A1 event, being awarded the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

. Florescu died in October 2010, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Paralympic Games profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florescu, Stefan 1920s births 2010 deaths Year of birth missing Sportspeople from Davenport, Iowa Sportspeople with tetraplegia Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1964 Summer Paralympics American male breaststroke swimmers American male freestyle swimmers American male table tennis players Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic medalists in table tennis Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic swimmers for the United States Paralympic table tennis players for the United States St. Ambrose University alumni Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States 20th-century American sportsmen American wheelchair users