Elena Giurcă
Romanian rower
Elena Giurcă (11 January 1946 – September 2013) was a Romanian rowing coxswain. She took up rowing in 1966 and debuted internationally at the 1969 European Championships, winning a bronze medal in the eights. Later she mostly competed in the quadruple sculls, placing third and fourth at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics, respectively. She also won silver medals in this event at the 1974 and 1977 world championships.
In 1969 Giurcă graduated in English from the University of Bucharest, and later taught English at a military academy. She died aged 67 after a brain aneurysm surgery.