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Comaneci no longer inspires Romanian gymnasts (Reuters via
Comaneci no longer inspires Romanian gymnasts (Reuters via Yahoo! Asia News) DEVA, Romania (Reuters) - Romanian girls no longer dream of being Nadia Comaneci -- that is the hard fact facing the country's women's gymnastics coach. Publish Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:37:33 GMT Read more...
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 [quote]Nicolae Forminte knows his hopes of preserving decades of Romanian brilliance in the Olympic gymnastics hall are slim. "Romanian gymnastics is in crisis," Forminte told Reuters as young girls leaped into the air behind him at a training centre in the western town of Deva. "There are no high-level athletes any more, no adequate medical assistance and a limited pool of gymnasts to choose from. "The days when a young girl dreamed of becoming a new Nadia are over." [/quote] That's interesting. There are other Romanian gymnasts that stand out since that time, like Catalina Ponor, Andrea Raducan. Here in the USA the girls dream of doing gymnastics like Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin - there must be a surge of new gymnasts at gym clubs after their competitions. [quote]A change of generation, poor funding, the declining popularity of the sport and the emigration of coaches and physiotherapists have all hit gymnastics in the eastern European country. [/quote] Bela Karolyi was one of the first to defect. Bonuses for incentives: [quote]Romania has promised 100,000 euros and an off-road car from a sponsor for each gold medal in Beijing. [/quote] [quote]Romania's women have won a team medal at every Olympics since 1976. Worried Romanian authorities, anxious to preserve that record, have doubled the bonuses on offer for gold medallists but, with little more than four months until the Beijing opening ceremony, Forminte has only two gymnasts able to fight for medals. [/quote] [quote]Stylish Sandra Izbasa and Steliana Nistor, the all-round silver medallist at the 2007 world championships in Stuttgart, will compete, though Nistor has a back injury, but Forminte needs to put together a strong, six-member team if he is to preserve Romania's reputation. [/quote] [quote]This is proving a problem for Forminte whose team are having to deal with injuries. Nistor is unlikely to compete on the vault in Beijing because of her chronic back problem. "I can successfully compete on only three apparatus," said Nistor. "This lowers my chances to win more money. But I hope for some medals on the floor and balance beam." [/quote] So many back injuries, too much stress. [quote]Forminte complains that young girls no longer flock to sports clubs to follow in the footsteps of Comaneci, Romania's 1976 triple Olympic champion and the first gymnast to win a perfect, 10-point score at the Games. [/quote] Nadia is known for getting the first 10 and lots of them, now with the new scoring system that is gone in elite gymnastics competition, but still is there at the lower levels. But it's really about the whole star package, wow factor, not the 10's. Like Dominique Moceanu. Too hard rules in Romanian gymnastics training? [quote]Karolyi, whose coaching school was notorious for its strict rules and arduous training, had revolutionised world gymnastics. His successor, Octavian Belu led Romanian gymnasts to 16 Olympic gold medals and made the country a feared contender in floor, vault and beam exercises. [/quote] [quote]Belu and co-coach Mariana Bitang themselves were no strangers to controversy, having faced criticism over their iron discipline and allegations of psychological abuse and demanding cuts from gymnasts' prize money. [/quote] Romania is known for its gymnastics, so why spend less on it than track and field or rowing? Outdaded training facilities can exacerbate and even lead to injuries where they may not have occurred. [quote]Sports officials say more money is needed to spruce up outdated training facilities and give promising athletes support at western levels. Romania spends 2.6 million euros a year on gymnastics, less than on track and field or rowing. Despite all the problems, Forminte is hopeful. "I will bring the gymnastics ship to port despite the storm," he said. "I love the sport." [/quote] Don't count them out! USA women's team is strong for the gold for the Beijing Olympics.
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[quote=troymich]Don't count them out! [/quote] Yup! Romanian team is up by nearly 5 points over the Russian team at the 2008 European Championships: check out http://www.gymchat.com/messageboards/viewtopic.php?p=36175#36175
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