Simona Păduraru is an international freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 swimmer from Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, who represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000

Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, 32 swimming events were contested, between September 15–23, 2000. There was a total of 954 participants from 150 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men:...

 in Sydney, Australia. Prior to that tournament, at the 2000 European Aquatics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, she was a member of the women's relay team that won the gold medal in the 4×200 m freestyle and the bronze medal in the 4×100 m freestyle.