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Alexandra Ianculescu

Romania

SportSpeed Skating
FederationIDSSCAN22110199101
NOCRomania
Born21 Oct 1991 in  Sibiu
GenderWomen
ResidenceHeerenveen, NED
OccupationAthlete, Business Owner, Coach, Personal Trainer
LanguagesEnglish, French, German, Romanian
Personal Bests
EventRecordDateLocation 
Personal Bests
  Event RecordDateLocation 
    500m 38.80 28 Dec 2013 Calgary  
    1000m 1:16.75 26 Oct 2014 Calgary  
    1500m 2:00.77 02 Jan 2014 Calgary  
    3000m 4:32.05 21 Nov 2009 Calgary  
    5000m 8:51.02 05 Dec 2010 Quebec  
General Interest
General Interest
HobbiesPlaying the guitar, cycling, cooking. (Twitter profile, 03 Feb 2021; Instagram profile, 30 Dec 2020)  
Other sportsShe was the Romanian national champion in roller speed skating in 2007 and 2008. (alexandra-ianculescu.com, 12 Sep 2017)  
Famous relativesHer mother Sanda Turcu competed in speed skating and was the 1986 female overall national champion in Romania. (calgarysun.com, 14 Jun 2020; alexandra-ianculescu.com, 12 Sep 2017)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Reason for choosing this sportHer mother Sandra was part of the Romanian national skating team. "She insisted I try the sport when we moved to Canada. I have loved it ever since."  
General Interest
General Interest
Most influential person in careerHer mother, and coach Gregg Planert. (alexandra-ianculescu.ca, 13 May 2020; Athlete, 26 Jan 2017)  
Hero / IdolJapanese speed skater Tomomi Okazaki. (Athlete, 26 Jan 2017)  
AmbitionsTo compete at the Olympic Winter Games in 2022 and 2026. (Instagram profile, 30 Jan 2021; insidethegames.biz, 15 Jun 2020)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Name of coachSimon Kuipers [personal], NED, from 2020  
When and where did you begin this sport?She initially tried short track at age 10 in Toronto, ON, Canada, with the Cyclones Short Track Club. She began speed skating in 2008 in Calgary, AB, Canada.  
General Interest
General Interest
NicknamesAlex (Twitter profile, 28 Nov 2016)  
Sporting philosophy / motto"Raise the bar in training every day, so when you race it becomes second nature." (Athlete, 26 Jan 2017)  
Other informationTIME IN CANADA
She was born in Romania but in 2001 she and her family moved to Toronto, ON, Canada. Growing up she skated for Romania at junior level, but in 2008 she was accepted into the Olympic Oval Programme in Calgary, Alberta, and began representing Canada. Having raced at World Cup events for the Canadian national team, in 2016 she decided to switch nationalities for a second time and return to the colours of Romania in order to improve her chances of competing at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. "I had to step back, and look at the big picture and for me to achieve my goals and to be the best athlete I can become, there was no other way." (insidethegames.biz, 15 Jun 2020; alexandra-ianculescu.com, 12 Sep 2017; SportsDeskOnline, 30 Nov 2016)

MOVE TO THE NETHERLANDS
In September 2020 she relocated to Heerenveen, Netherlands, to train full-time at the Thialf Academy and prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. She had initially been encouraged to make the move to Europe in 2016 by coach Gregg Planert. "I don't think I was emotionally ready [to move in 2016], and I don't think I was mature enough to be serious about training in another country. So the decision came, literally in five minutes. Gregg has been my mentor, coach, father figure, and friend, for close to a decade. He brought me to a point where we both knew I needed more to improve my performances. I would not be where I am today, nor would I have gone to my first Olympics, without him by my side. I've been here doing the same thing and I want to spice things up. I'm not actually scared [about the move], I'm ecstatic, I'm getting goose-bumps just thinking about it." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Oct 2020; alexandra-ianculescu.ca, 01 Sep 2020, 13 May 2020; insidethegames.biz, 15 Jun 2020; calgarysun.com, 14 Jun 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In February 2016 she set up her own business called Body by Alex, which offers online personal training classes. In October 2020 she began working as an inline skating coach at Lindenoord Skeelerclub in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (bodybyalex.ca, 01 Jan 2021; alexandra-ianculescu.ca, 26 Dec 2020; LinkedIn profile, 01 Oct 2020; calgarysun.com, 14 Jun 2020)
 
Memorable sporting achievementCompeting at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (alexandra-ianculescu.ca, 13 May 2020)  
Social Media
Social Media
www.alexandra-ianculescu.ca/  
www.facebook.com/alexandra.ianculescu  
twitter.com/speed_skater  
Championships results
Year Competition Event Rank  
Championships results
    2017/2018 World Sprint Championships Overall18  
    2016/2017 World Sprint Championships Overall27  
    2018 Olympic Games 500m31  
World Cups
Year Competition Event Rank  
World Cups
    2014/2015 World Cup Classification 500m36  
    2014/2015 World Cup Classification 1000m45  
    2016/2017 World Cup Classification 1000m57  
    2017/2018 World Cup Classification 1000m58