Nicolae Linca (1 January 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a Romanian amateur welterweight boxer. After winning bronze medals at the 1953 and 1955 European championships, he became Romania's first Olympic champion in boxing at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Fighting with a broken finger, he won against Fred Tiedt in a 3:2 split decision. Today, he remains the only Romanian boxer to win gold at the Olympics. His amateur record upon retirement was 281-25. After competing as an amateur, Linca turned to coaching in the sport.[2] By the 1990s he was living in poverty and suffering from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, which led to his deaths at the age of 79.[1] In 2005 he was awarded the Sports Merit Order of First Class.[4]