Background
Due to his attraction to water and his inborn qualities (his father was a professional scuba diver), Florea overcame the drawback of being overweight and recorded a fast progress.
Due to his attraction to water and his inborn qualities (his father was a professional scuba diver), Florea overcame the drawback of being overweight and recorded a fast progress.
He also swam for Romania at the 2000 Olympics. He began swimming at the age of six, at the Constanţa Children"s Palace pool, coached by Dumitru Lungu. After less than one year of swimming, he took part in his first competitions for his age group, during which he became a medalist 6 times.
The most significant results during this period are his first two national records for 50m butterfly, at age 11.
In 1995 (aged 15), he made his debut in the National Junior Swimming Team. In 1998 (aged 18) he was selected for the National and Olympic Teams.
Between 1996 and 2000, he participated in over 25 major European competitions (official, unofficial and Grand Prix), winning 42 medals. His progress was constant and valuable, and he set 25 national records during this time.
The next year was difficult, due to health problems, but he eventually managed to return to the international competition arena, finishing fifth at the 2002 European Championships, a sign which marked his comeback.
In 2003, he made his debut in World Cup competitions, winning his first silver medal at this level - second place in the 200 back (Stockholm, 22 January 2003). He also set a new national record in the short course 100m backstroke event as well. In May at the 2004 European Championships, Florea finished second in the 200 m backstroke.
The next year, at the 2005 World Championships, Florea finished fourth in the 200 m backstroke, three hundreds of a second short of the bronze medal.
However, his 1:57.03 time meant a new national record. He recorded his first 2006 results at the 2005-2006 World Cup competitions in Moscow and New York, winning two bronze medals in the 200 backstroke.
He retired in 2010.