”Gymnastics shouldn’t turn into a walk in the park”

Following the conclusion of the European Championships, head coach Octavian Belu agreed to sit down for an interview with Romanian newspaper Adevarul. The interview was conducted by Adrian Macarie.

AM: Are you pleased with the junior team’s performance?
OB: I can honestly say that, given the high level of competition and the small differences between scores, we are among the countries that have good reason to be optimistic when it comes to the future. We now have a leader in Floarea Leonida, and although it was a hard task, she managed to make a name for herself, especially on the events that have traditionally been our strength, like beam and floor. She was also very promising on the uneven bars, which has been our hope for a long time, because this event has created many problems for us. However, we are still faced with the same problem: there aren’t too many up-and-comers who are ready to compete at a level that could generate hope we would do well at Worlds, or the Olympics, and we are forced to produce results with a small number of gymnasts. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe witnessed -as you’ve seen- major changes when it comes to [which countries are] the medallists.

AM: But, don’t you think that if Romania’s team were here, the medallists would have been completely different?
OB: No, definitely not at the level our gymnasts had shown. As this competition unfolded, our team would have suffered the same fate as the Spanish team, who came here with 3 gymnasts, but was left with one by the time the event started. The others could not compete due to injuries. Basically, our problem wasn’t the lack of gymnasts, but their health problems that were not taken care of in time, and the other problems that have received enough media attention. With the team we had at home, and their health [problems], we wouldn’t have done anything but field an unprepared team and I am very careful about this now, because the gymnasts’ health has been brought to the forefront –for good reason. This concern is natural, and we have been trying to take care of this for a few years, but we still don’t have a team doctor. Health problems are taken care of at the last panic-stricken moment. The doctors who’ve been here until now had to assume full responsibility because the girls who were training, only did so once the doctor cleared them, saying they were fit to train. Nobody trained under any other circumstances, although attempts were made to let them train once their parents signed a release form. When it comes to these kids, I will not take any risk when it comes to their health, and neither will anyone else from the coaching staff.

AM: What can be done for the gymnasts’ well-being?
OB: The International Federation is always trying to update the apparatus, dealing with the gymnasts’ well being in competition. Moreover, they are also thinking about doing in-depth research to determine the relation between the gymnast’s age and performance level. For now, the conclusions they reached are things we already knew about, dealing with their height and physical development. They didn’t come up with any new findings. The gymnast’s height is still tied to her genetic make-up. It’s actually recommended that smaller girls from short families be selected because gymnastics is more and more demanding. Everyone is thinking about the gymnasts’ health, but this doesn’t mean the sport should turn into a walk in the park.

AM: What about the health problems that occur during their career, and the diseases developed later on by the girls –they’re not related to gymnastics?
OB: No. I went to a seminar in Lausanne, and gymnastics was ranked 17th in a list of dangerous sports, not including extreme sports. Besides, the athlete’s health is closely tied to their ability to recover. Let’s not forget that in Romania, sleep was the only recovery program used for a long time. The more we take care of our athletes, the less problems will arise from gymnastics. Without giving detailed examples, you would see that the back/spine problems that received so much media attention, also occur in weightlifting, platform diving, and other sports. Gymnastics isn’t more dangerous than other sports, nor is it more demanding.

AM: Based on what you saw in Patras and those you know are back home, who to you expect to be on Romania’s team next year?
OB: The health problems are an interesting issue and I have many questions related to it. I don’t know; it seems we’ve suddenly become a lot more frail, we’re easily scared and it really cannot be that we are lagging behind the Spanish, French and Italians, in terms of mentality, since they want to be competitive and they want to overcome obstacles we seem to be stuck on. Besides, like it or not, gymnastics is progressing; the level is increasing and –surprisingly- the number of competitors is going up, instead of down. Competition is more fierce, and this is the best proof –Romania’s senior team did not come to the European Championships, and nobody asked why.

On the other hand, Oana Petrovschi felt the Senior team could have medalled had they been in Patras. "It was fairly hard for me without a team. I wanted to compete with my team, and we definitely would have been on the podium. I couldn’t do more on my own. I didn’t expect to win this medal, especially since I went up against the best in the world. I was a little lucky and I’m happy with my result, even though I could have done better. Next year, our senior team will get bigger when the juniors will join us and I think it will be better,” explained Petrovschi.

Belu added that the Russians were dominant in the absence of the Romanian team. “Without the Romanian team, Russia clearly dominated these Championships. They proved to be the only country capable of winning medals on all the events. I also saw the eternal and wonderful Khorkina, who won the all-around title at age 23, which in my opinion was awarded as an Oscar for her entire career. Still the number of athletes who compete is increasing, and the routines are getting more difficult. We’re witnessing gymnastics becoming more European-ized; more countries are medal contenders now. If we add the American, Chinese and Australian teams to the list, we can see we have our work cut out for us for the next Worlds and Olympics.”
The national team head coach added that the juniors turned in a remarkable performance. “There were no surprises in the junior event, where everyone expected Pavlova to win, since she had more experience. The junior competition was higher level than the seniors, both in terms of skill-level, but also when it came to execution and elegance, “ added Belu.

Back to Articles Page