The Most Famous
ATHLETES from Moldova
This page contains a list of the greatest Moldovan Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 27 of which were born in Moldova. This makes Moldova the birth place of the 67th most number of Athletes behind Trinidad and Tobago, and Indonesia.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Moldovan Athletes of all time. This list of famous Moldovan Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Moldovan Athletes.
1. Lia Manoliu (1932 - 1998)
With an HPI of 61.32, Lia Manoliu is the most famous Moldovan Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 30 different languages on wikipedia.
Lia Manoliu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈli.a manoˈli.u]; 25 April 1932 – 9 January 1998) was a Romanian discus thrower who won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. She was the first track and field athlete to compete at six Olympics (1952–1972).
2. Tudor Casapu (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 48.79, Tudor Casapu is the 2nd most famous Moldovan Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Tudor Casapu (born 18 September 1963) is a Moldovan weightlifter, World Champion and Olympic Champion. He won a gold medal at the 1990 World Weightlifting Championships, and a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
3. Natalia Valeeva (b. 1969)
With an HPI of 48.55, Natalia Valeeva is the 3rd most famous Moldovan Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Natalia Valeeva (born 15 November 1969 in Tîrnauca, Moldova) is a naturalized Italian archer. She is a five-time Olympian and former world number one, and a native of Moldova, having represented the Unified Team, Moldova and Italy, at the Olympic Games of 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. She won the individual and team bronze medals in the 1992 Olympic Games.
4. Yuri Bashkatov (1968 - 2022)
With an HPI of 46.33, Yuri Bashkatov is the 4th most famous Moldovan Athlete. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Yuri Nikolayevich Bashkatov (Russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Башка́тов, Romanian: Iurie Nicolaevici Başcatov; 20 June 1968 – 3 September 2022) was a Soviet (Moldovan) freestyle swimmer and graduate of the Technical University of Moldova. In 1988, he won the national championships in the 100 m freestyle, setting a new Soviet record and qualifying for the Olympics. He competed at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, winning silver medals in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay on both occasions; in 1988, he also finished fifth in the individual 100 m freestyle. Bashkatov won three medals, including one gold, at the 1989 European Aquatics Championships and 1991 World Aquatics Championships.
5. Timofey Skryabin (b. 1967)
With an HPI of 43.64, Timofey Skryabin is the 5th most famous Moldovan Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Timofey Skryabin (born November 14, 1967, in Bălți, Moldovan SSR) is a retired boxer from the former Soviet Union, who represented his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There he won the bronze medal in the flyweight division (– 51 kg), one of several Moldovans to win medals at that event. A year later he captured the silver medal in the bantamweight category (– 54 kg) at the 1989 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Athens, Greece.
6. Carlos Silva (b. 0)
With an HPI of 41.32, Carlos Silva is the 6th most famous Moldovan Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 5 different languages.
Carlos Silva may refer to: Carlos Silva (baseball) (born 1979), Major League Baseball starting pitcher Carlos Silva (Portuguese footballer) (1902–?), Portuguese footballer Carlos Silva (sport shooter) (born 1952), Guatemalan sports shooter Carlos Silva (sprinter) (born 1926), Chilean Olympic sprinter Carlos Silva Valente (born 1948), Portuguese football referee Carlos Silva (hurdler) (born 1974), Portuguese hurdler Carlos Silva (cyclist) (born 1974), Colombian cyclist Carlos Alberto Silva (1939–2017), Brazilian football manager Chale Silva (1919–2009), Costa Rican footballer Carlos Silva (Colombian footballer) (born 1973), Colombian football manager and former footballer Carlos Eduardo Silva (born 1994), Brazilian indoor volleyball player
7. Denis Vieru (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 39.47, Denis Vieru is the 7th most famous Moldovan Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Denis Vieru (born 10 March 1996) is a Moldovan judoka who competes in the men's half-lightweight (66 kg) category. He competed in the men's 66 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, without winning a medal, but he won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
8. Victor Ciobanu (b. 1992)
With an HPI of 38.40, Victor Ciobanu is the 8th most famous Moldovan Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Victor Ciobanu (born 7 October 1992) is a Moldovan Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the gold medal in the 60 kg event at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway. He is the first wrestler representing Moldova to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the World Wrestling Championships. In 2018, Ciobanu won the silver medal in the same event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. He also won the gold medal in his event at the 2019 European Wrestling Championships in Bucharest, Romania. In 2021, Ciobanu represented Moldova at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
9. Sergiu Toma (b. 1987)
With an HPI of 37.72, Sergiu Toma is the 9th most famous Moldovan Athlete. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Sergiu Toma (born 29 January 1987) is a Moldovan-born Emirati judoka. He competed for the United Arab Emirates in the 81 kg category at the 2016 Olympic Games and defeated Takanori Nagase to enter the semi-finals. He lost his semi-final match to Khasan Khalmurzaev, but then beat Matteo Marconcini in the bronze medal match. At the 2008 and 2012 Olympics he competed for Moldova but was eliminated in the early rounds. Toma has a law degree from the Moldova State University. In 2008, he considered retiring from sport due to financial problems. He stayed, and in 2011 was named Moldovan Athlete of the Year. After the 2012 Olympics he moved to the United Arab Emirates, together with five other Moldovan judoka and the national coach Vasile Colta.
10. Alexandra Camenșcic (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 36.91, Alexandra Camenșcic is the 10th most famous Moldovan Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Alexandra Camenscic (born 28 August 1988) is a Moldovan cross-country skier who has competed since 2009. She finished 71st in the 10 km event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Brice finished 84th in the individual sprint event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec. Her best career finish was tenth in a 7.5 km mass start event at Slovakia in 2009. Now she teaches the sport of Biathlon in the Moldovan town of Criuleni.
People
Pantheon has 29 people classified as Moldovan athletes born between 1932 and 2005. Of these 29, 27 (93.10%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Moldovan athletes include Tudor Casapu, Natalia Valeeva, and Timofey Skryabin. The most famous deceased Moldovan athletes include Lia Manoliu, and Yuri Bashkatov. As of April 2024, 2 new Moldovan athletes have been added to Pantheon including Yuri Bashkatov, and Timofey Skryabin.
Living Moldovan Athletes
Go to all Rankings
Tudor Casapu
1963 - Present
HPI: 48.79
Natalia Valeeva
1969 - Present
HPI: 48.55
Timofey Skryabin
1967 - Present
HPI: 43.64
Carlos Silva
HPI: 41.32
Denis Vieru
1996 - Present
HPI: 39.47
Victor Ciobanu
1992 - Present
HPI: 38.40
Sergiu Toma
1987 - Present
HPI: 37.72
Alexandra Camenșcic
1988 - Present
HPI: 36.91
Cristina Iovu
1992 - Present
HPI: 36.10
Sofia Polcanova
1994 - Present
HPI: 33.95
Alexandra Mîrca
1993 - Present
HPI: 30.61
Victor Scvortov
1988 - Present
HPI: 29.30
