The Romanian Men are still strong in Artistic gymnastics. But many have been anticipating a decline in the performance of the long time dominant Romanian Women.
But here’s some good news:
BUCHAREST — Triple Olympic gold medalist Catalina Ponor has come out of retirement to head the Romania squad for next month’s world championships in Stuttgart.
Ponor, 20, retired after last year’s European championships where she won gold on the beam and bronze on the floor, her favorite apparatus.
“With Ponor in the team, Romania hope to qualify for the 2008 Olympic team contest,” the head of the Romanian gymnastics body Adrian Stoica told reporters on Tuesday.
Without Ponor, a young Romania team failed to win a woman team’s medal for the first time in 25 years at the 2006 world championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
The first 12 teams at the world championships from Sept. 1-9, will qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Last weekend, Ponor dominated the Romania national championships, winning on the beam and floor.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 