Bea edits an English language site called Gymnastics, No Ceiling, mainly covering Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Romania. Somehow I missed discovering it until now, though she’s been publishing good content for months.
A good starting point is Bea’s article on great Romanian talents injured out in the 1990s under Head Coach Octavian Belu. This is the first of a two-part series published in the new Couch Gymnast magazine.
Let’s talk about a controversial period in the history of Romanian gymnastics. The nineties.
Back then, the Romanians were dominating the team contests, winning five consecutives World titles and the Olympic gold in Sydney. But the way in which those medals were gained is still a very debated subject. …
A total of 10 Romanian gymnasts won World or Olympic individual medals between 1991 and 2000: Cristina Bontas, Maria Neculita, Mirela Pasca, Lavinia Milosovici, Gina Gogean, Andreea Cacovean, Simona Amanar, Alexandra Marinescu, Maria Olaru and Andreea Raducan.
I would like to bring to your attention those gymnasts that never won a World or Olympic individual medal although they showed immense potential. Here are gymnasts that could have won maybe the same amount of medals (although Gogean’s record is most likely unbeatable). Moreover these are gymnasts that would have had the ability to change the face of Romanian gymnastics, showing artistry, difficulty and elegance. Here they are:
Nicoleta Onel
Ana Maria Bican
Daniela Maranduca
Andreea Isarescu
Angela Ghimpu …Click through for details on each: The Lost Girls of Romania
If you like that article, check out Bea’s blog as well: Gymnastics, No Ceiling
I’m subscribed.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 