Background
Robert Andrei Glinta was born on April 18, 1997 in Romania.
Early Success
Swimming at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, Glinta placed 5th with a 55.21 in the 100m backstroke, just a hair off his 55.10 from the semi-finals.
At the 2015 Junior World Swimming Championships, Glinta won the gold medal and set a meet record in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 54.30. 2015 was an impressive year, Glinta set the previously started meet record, a new national record for Romanian Juniors, and his times qualified to swim in Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games,
2016 Rio Olympic Games
At 19 years old, Glinta made his Olympic debut, finishing 8th in the 100 meter backstroke final in 53.50. In the 200 meter backstroke he just missed out on a spot in the semi-finals, finishing 18th in 1:57.91.
2018 European Championships
After advancing to the semis in the 50 back, Glinta blew away the field in a time of 24.12, a new national record and only .08 away from the world record. Though Glinta wasn’t able to repeat the performance, he did earn a silver medal in the final next to Kliment Kolesnikov, who did break the world record going 24.00.
2021 European Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
Glinta continued his ascension on the international stage in Budapest, taking a silver medal in the 50 back (24.42, again behind Kolesnikov) before touching first for gold in the 100 back with a personal best of 52.88.
