Nicolae Gaiduc
{{Short description|Moldavian cross-country skier (born 1996)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name = Nicolae Gaiduc
|image = File:Biathlon European Championships 2017 Sprint Men 0651.JPG
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|07|23}}
|country = Moldova
|nationality = Moldovan
|sport = Biathlon, Cross-country skiing
}}
Nicolae Gaiduc (born 23 July 1996) is a Moldovan skier who competed in biathlon and cross-country skiing. He represented Moldova at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He served as his nation's flag-bearer at the Parade of Nations in the opening and closing ceremonies at the Games.
Early life
Nicolae Gaiduc was born on 23 July 1996 at Ungheni in the Ungheni district of Moldova.{{cite web|url=https://www.tntsports.co.uk/cross-country-skiing/nicolae-gaiduc_prs346791/person.shtml|title=Nicolae Gaiduc|work=TNT Sports|access-date=1 June 2024}} He is affiliated with the Club Sportiv Central Dinamo at Chisinau.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/137676|title=Nicolae Gaiduc|work=Olympedia|access-date=1 June 2024}}
Gaiduc began practicing cross-country skiing at the age of 14 at the Dinamo training grounds under Nadejda Bria.{{cite web|url=https://agora.md/stiri/42061/sportivul-nicolae-gaiduc-va-fi-portdrapelul-republicii-moldova-la-jo-din-coreea-de-sud|title=Athlete Nicolae Gaiduc to be the flag of the Republic of Moldova at the OJ in South Korea|lang=ro|work=Agora|date=9 February 2018|access-date=1 June 2024}}
Career
= Initial years (2011-2017) =
In 2011, Gaiduc made his international debut in the biathlon event in a tournament held in Slovakia, and secured first place in the sprint race. He made his debut in cross-country skiing at the FIS junior cross-country skiing championships held at St. Ulrich in December 2011. He finished last in the sprint race, and second to last in the freestyle race.{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=CC&competitorid=178738&raceid=20434#results|title=Men's sprint junior, St. Ulrich 2011|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=CC&competitorid=178738&raceid=20407|title=Men's freestyle junior, St. Ulrich 2011|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}} Next year, he took part in the Balkan championship, and finished second in the Biathlon event. In the Balkan Cup skiing competitions held in February 2012, he was the second highest ranked Moldovan behind Victor Pinzaru, and achieved a credible 14th place finish amongst the 19 competitors.{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=CC&competitorid=178738&raceid=19822|title=Men's 15 km, Balkan cup 2012|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}}
In 2013, he competed in the biathlon event at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Brașov. While he was set to participate in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2013, he pulled out of the competition.{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/athlete-biography.html?sector=CC&competitorid=178738&type=result|title=Results, Nicolae Gaidu|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}} In 2017, he took part in his first FIS Nordic World Ski Championships held at Lahti in Finland.{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=CC&competitorid=178738&raceid=27728|title=Men's classical, Nordic World Ski Championships 2017|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}} He continued to participate in various international events such as the Eastern European Cup in Ukraine.
= Olympics and after (2018-present) =
In 2018, Gaiduc competed in the FIS cross-country ski race held at Novo Mesto in Slovenia, and achieved a 39th place finish amongst the 49 participants.{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=CC&competitorid=178738&raceid=31078|title=Men's classical, FIS cross-country Novo Mesto 2018|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}} In January 2018, he participated in the Balkan cup competitions held at Ravna Gora as a prelude to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The qualification for the cross-country event at the Winter Olympics was based on athletes achieving a minimum point score across FIS events within a specific time period.{{cite web|url=https://data.fis-ski.com/media/olympic-games/2018/english-qs/owg-pyeongchang-2018-qualification-system-cross-country-skiing.pdf|title=Qualification Systems for XXIII Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang|work=International Ski Federation|access-date=6 December 2017|archive-date=20 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220072842/https://data.fis-ski.com/media/olympic-games/2018/english-qs/owg-pyeongchang-2018-qualification-system-cross-country-skiing.pdf|url-status=live}} As per the final quota allocation released on 20 January 2014, Moldova was allocated one place for the distance event under the basic quota.{{cite web|url=https://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/olympic-quotas-list.html?sectorcode=cc&listid=2018|access-date=6 December 2017|title=Olympic quota list|work=International Ski Federation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051351/https://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/olympic-quotas-list.html?sectorcode=CC&listid=2018|archive-date=22 December 2017|url-status=dead}} Gaiduc served as his nation's flag-bearer at the Parade of Nations in the opening ceremony at the Games.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/every-flag-bearer-at-the-winter-olympics-2018-opening-ceremony-a3762216.html|title=Flag bearers at the Winter Olympics|work=Evening Standard|author=Richard Parry|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210094815/https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/every-flag-bearer-at-the-winter-olympics-2018-opening-ceremony-a3762216.html |archive-date=10 February 2018|url-status=live}} Gaiduc made his debut at the Winter Olympics at the men's freestyle event.{{cite web |url=https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/cn/game-time/results/OWG2018/en/cross-country-skiing/athlete-profile-n3030523-nicolae-gaiduc.htm|title=Pyeongchang 2018|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180902/https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/cn/game-time/results/OWG2018/en/cross-country-skiing/athlete-profile-n3030523-nicolae-gaiduc.htm|archive-date=10 February 2018|url-status=live }} He was ranked 102nd amongst the 115 participants in the event.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/9000277|title=Cross-country skiing 15 kilometres (Freestyle), Men|work=Olympedia|access-date=1 June 2024}} He also served as his country's flag-bearer during the closing ceremony.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/flagbearers?edition_id=60|title=Flag bearers at the closing ceremony|work=Olympedia|access-date=1 June 2024}}
After the Olympics, he represented Moldova in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2019 held at Seefeld and the Alpen Cup in Ulrichen. In the 2021-22 season, Gaiduc secured top ten finishes at the roller skiing championships held in Florina and Zlatibor. In the championship event held at Veroia in September 2021, he achieved his best place finish of third in the sprint final.{{cite web|url=https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=CC&competitorid=178738&raceid=38717|title=Men's sprint, FIS roller skiing Veroia 2021|work=International Ski and Snowboard Federation|access-date=1 June 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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Category:Moldovan male cross-country skiers