At the 2008 Summer Olympics she defeated Japanese double gold medalist Ryoko Tani, who until then had been undefeated in major international competitions for 12 years.

[1] Dumitru defeated the legendary five-time Olympian Ryoko Tani by "keikoku" in a shocking –48 kg semifinal upset at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium.

Then she flipped Cuba's Yanet Bermoy becoming the first Romanian judoka to win a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games.

[2] She took part in the Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics but lost in the final against Sarah Menezes.

[4] She was given the award of Cetățean de onoare ("Honorary Citizen") of her hometown Ploiești in 2008.