[3][4] Born to an ethnic Ukrainian family of fishermen from the Danube Delta, he had started fishing and paddling in a fisherman’s boat at the age of 6.

His outstanding talent, exceptional working capacity and his life experience soon turned him into Huţan’s genuine, albeit unpaid, assistant coach.

Fascinated by Ismailciuc’s Danube Delta stories, Huţan sent him on various scouting missions there, resulting in a series of talented youngsters from that area (of various ethnic backgrounds) rising rather quickly to canoeing glory (a trend which would continue over the following decades).

As for Ismailciuc himself, realising he could not match fellow Dinamo canoeist Leon Rotman’s times in the singles events, he looked for a partner among the young people he had selected, and he chose Dumitru Alexe.

The bronze medal in C-2 10000 m was won by two of Ismailciuc’s protégés (Ichim Lipalit and Lavrente Calinov), as one country was entitled to two entries in each event.