Mihaela Cambei trained for two years straight through multiple injuries, she told us on site in Chisinau, Moldova, just a day before her session at the European Weightlifting Championships. It’s not something most coaches would advise, but when you’re a podium prospect at your first Olympics, you do what you have to do.
- Remind Me: Cambei, just 22, won silver in the Women’s 49-kilogram division at the 2024 Olympics in Paris with a six-for-six day, the only athlete in her class to perform flawlessly.
After a much-needed break to lick her wounds from Paris, Romania's Cambei came back looking stronger than ever for this year’s European Championships.
Here’s what we learned from chatting with her in the training hall, and what happened in her first performance since the Olympics last summer.
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Mihaela Cambei | 2025 European Weightlifting Championships
Like many Olympians, Cambei abstained from last fall’s World Weightlifting Championships in Manama, Bahrain, which took place just four months after the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.
“I needed a break for my health,” she said, explaining further that her back and elbows had pained her throughout the Paris qualification period. “But I’m back now.”
Before Europeans kicked off, Cambei seemed herself — she led the entry totals for Europeans this year by 20 kilograms. Her trajectory signaled another flurry of personal records, as Cambei has improved her total across her last four international appearances:
2023 World Weightlifting Championships: 195
2024 European Weightlifting Championships: 199
2024 IWF World Cup: 201
2024 Olympics: 205
But on Apr. 13 in Chisinau, Cambei nearly blew it, missing her first two snatches at 85 kilograms before saving the third. It was out of character, but a seven-kilo margin on runner-up was more than enough of a buffer.
Cambei took a conservative approach in the event’s second half, dropping her opener from 100 kilograms to 97. She comfortably rocketed all three jerks to arm’s length without issue, bagging her third Senior European Weightlifting Championships title.
Mihaela Cambei (49KG, ROU) | 2025 European Weightlifting Championships
Snatch: 85x, 85x, 85KG
Clean & Jerk: 97, 100, 105KG
Total: 190KG
However, her 190-kilogram result in Chisinau marked Cambei’s lowest competitive total since European Juniors in 2022.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Cambei was in the driver’s seat during her Olympic debut, poised to win the event altogether.
Though she described her Olympic experience as “very challenging,” and “a miracle” to us in the training hall, Cambei is underselling things a bit: She forced Team China’s Hou Zhihui to set an Olympic record in the clean & jerk — 117 kilograms, which she missed on her second attempt — to secure the gold medal.
- By a Hair: In Paris, Cambei was closer to beating Team China, the world's most dominant contingent, than any other Women's weightlifter. She took silver to Hou by a single kilogram.
“I want to do even better next time,” Cambei said to us in the training hall at the European Weightlifting Championships. “Next time” is only three years away, and you can only do a little bit better than silver. Based on her trajectory so far, we’re confident Cambei can do a little bit better.
Catch all the action at the 2025 European Weightlifting Championships live on Weightlifting House TV, or read up on our Results & Recap hub, which we’re updating after every session.
