Andreea Chitu retired and became a judo coach

Multiple world and European medallist in judo Andreea Chiţu has changed her profession after she decided to retire from judo, she converted into a coach. Chitu decided to retire as a performance athlete, but not from the world of judo. Chiţu will remain in a kimono. The 33 year old triple European Champion booked huge successes in her category U52kg.

Andreea Chitu captured a silver medal at the World Championships in 2014 and 2015 and claimed a bronze medal at the 2011 Worlds in Paris. Andreea became European Champion in 2012 in Chelyabinsk and repeated the European gold in 2015 at the European Games. In total she won six European medals and stood on the European podium five times in a row.

Chitu won European medals in all age categories and started with a bronze medal at the 2004 Cadet European Championships for talents U17 years. Not much later in 2006 she collected her first European bronze at junior level and scalled up to senior level and meanwhile added three European U23 medals including the title in 2010.

She collected over 30 World Cup medals in a decade between 2010-2020 including nine victories in her own country and at five Grand Prix events in Tashkent, Jeju (2), Zagreb and Antalya.

She competed at three Olympic Games but couldn’t qualify for the medal bouts.

In her new function she is in charge of training the athletes from the Olympic Junior Training Center, in Bucharest. Chitu: "I made this decision to retire as a sportswoman, but my life remains in judo. I want to give these girls I train everything I have learned, over time, about judo. It's a new beginning. I know that it will not be easy at all, but because judo is my life, I want to perform and as a coach."

The only medal that Andreea is missing from the record is the Olympic one, so as a coach she can achieve new levels. "If I didn't manage to win a medal at the Olympics as a sportswoman, I want to fulfill this dream as a coach," she added. Nevertheless Chitu was emotional at a farewell speech with other athletes.

Cosmin Gușă unconditionally supported her. The president of FR Judo, Cosmin Gușă, was the man who helped Andreea the most during this period. "Mr. Gușă did everything he could to be a coach at the Olympic Center today.

Without him, without those from the Olympic Committee and without those from Steaua, this dream of mine could not have been realized ", concluded Andreea.