Romania lost one of the country's best athletes, Maria Cioncan, 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, after she died Sunday in a car crash in Bulgaria. Photo by www.cosr.ro
Athens Olympic bronze medalist Maria Cioncan died in a car accident near Pleven, northern Bulgaria, on the road back from Greek training camp.
Bulgarian media informed another two Romanians traveling in the same car were injured.
The accident took place at 10:50 am on Sunday when her car hit a tree. The Romanian athlete died instantly.
Maria Cioncan was born in 1977 in Maieru. She was a middle distance runner from Romania, best known for winning a bronze medal in the 1500 m event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set personal bests in both 800 and 1500 m during the games.
Cioncan had not competed since the 2005 season.