Marian Oprea (born June 6, in Piteşti

Pitesti

Pitești is a city in Romania, located on the Argeș River. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated on the A1 freeway connecting it directly to the national capital Bucharest,...

) is a Romanian athlete, competing in triple jump

Triple jump

The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...

, who won the silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 at the 2004 Olympic Games. His personal best is 17.81 meters.

He took his first major medal at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics

2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics

The 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2000 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Santiago, Chile.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:...

, winning the gold with a jump of 16.41 m. Oprea won the bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in the triple jump at the 2005 World Athletics Championships

2005 World Championships in Athletics

The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...

 in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 and also at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg

Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

.

He suffered a serious knee injury (tendonitis

Tendonitis

Tendinitis , meaning inflammation of a tendon , is a type of tendinopathy often confused with the more common tendinosis, which has similar symptoms but requires different treatment...

) and missed the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 and 2009 World Championships in Athletics

2009 World Championships in Athletics

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

 as a result. He opted to undergo major surgery and brought an end to a two-year-long injury hiatus with a jump of 16.88 m in May 2010. He proved himself to be back to peak fitness with a silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 performance at the 2010 European Athletics Championships (jumping 17.51 m) and then taking the gold medal at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup

2010 IAAF Continental Cup

The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 2008 when the IAAF revamped the competition format...

 later that season.

Achievements

Representing
2001	World Student Games Athletics at the 2001 Summer Universiade At the 2001 Summer Universiade, the athletics events were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China. A total of 45 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 22 by female athletes. The host country, China, took the most gold medals and the most medals overall . The United States were a close...	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , PR China	2nd	17.11 m
2006	European Championships	Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	3rd	17.18 m 2006 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump The Men's Triple Jump event at the 2006 European Athletics Championships was held at the Ullevi on August 10 and August 12.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:*All results shown are in metres-Schedule:-Records:-Qualification:...
2011	European Indoor Championships	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	3rd	17.62 m 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump The Men's triple jump event at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held at March 4-6, 2011 with the final being held on March 6 at 16:25 local time. -Records:-Qualification:...