Mihai Covaliu

Mihai Covaliu
At the 2015 World Fencing Championships
Personal information
Full name	Mihai Claudiu Covaliu
Nickname(s)	Cova
Born	(1977-11-05) 5 November 1977 (age 39) Braşov, Romania
Weapon(s)	sabre
Hand	right-handed
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)
Club	CS Dinamo București
Retired	2008
FIE Ranking	ranking (archive)
Medal record Men's fencing Representing  Romania Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Individual sabre 2008 Beijing Individual sabre World Championships 2005 Leipzig Individual sabre 2003 Havana Individual sabre 2001 Nîmes Team sabre 2002 Lisbon Individual sabre European Championships 2006 Izmir Team sabre 2001 Koblenz Team sabre 2002 Moscow Team sabre 2005 Zalaegerszeg Team sabre 2007 Ghent Individual sabre 2008 Kiev Individual sabre

Mihai Claudiu Covaliu (born 5 November 1977 in Brașov) is a Romanian retired sabre fencer, Olympic champion in 2000 and world champion in 2005, and coach of the Romanian men's sabre team. He is also president of the Romanian Fencing Federation.

Covaliu's first sport was football. He began fencing at age nine, after coaches from CS Tractorul Brașov presented the sport to his school. His mother encouraged him to persevere despite the harsh training methods used at the time. In 1998 he joined the BNR Bucharest, a club supported by the National Bank of Romania, before transferring to CS Dinamo București, of which he is still a member as of 2014.

Covaliu married in 2001 Irina Draghici, a member of the women’s national sabre team. They have two children. He graduated in physical education from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași and holds a master's degree in sport management.

Covaliu underwent at CS Tractorul intensive training at the hand of several coaches and technicians, amongst which Mihai Ticușan, Gabriel Duția, Alexandru Chiculiță, Mihai Orița and Emilian Nuță. In 2000 at the Olympic Games he created a surprise by reaching the final, beating medal prospect Damien Touya of France along the way. Covaliu then disposed of Mathieu Gourdain 15–12 to earn the first Romanian gold medal in sabre and become number one in FIE rankings. For this performance he was named master emeritus in sport and commander of the Order For Merit.

At the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004, Covaliu was eliminated 15–14 in quarter-finals by Zsolt Nemcsik of Hungary, who eventually took the silver medal. Covaliu ended up number seven in the event. At the World Championships in Leipzig the year after, he made his way comfortably to the final, which he won 15–12 against three-time Olympic champion Stanislav Pozdnyakov of Russia. He was noted for his “enthusiasm, physical shape, virtuoso technique, simple fencing”. He dedicated his medal to his son Vlad, born a day before the departure for Leipzig.