 For her Olympic début in Athens Brânză managed to beat experienced fencer Adrienn Hormay of Hungary, but stumbled in the table of 16 against China's Zhang Li and finished 16th.She later explained she felt overwhelmed by the Olympic experience and like a child lost amongst big-name athletes.In the 2004–05 season she reached her first podium in the Fencing World Cup with a silver medal at the Budapest Grand Prix.