Romanian Team Finally Finds New Doctor

One of the biggest problems facing the Romanian national gymnastics team has been the absence of a doctor who would always watch over the gymnasts’ well-being. The crisis surfaced once Mr. Oană, the former team doctor left after administering a Nurophen pill, a substance that’s on the IOC banned substance list, to Andreea Răducan during the Sydney Olympics. Răducan tested positive for the banned substance, and was later stripped of her all around gold medal. Ever since, for almost two years, many young doctors and nurses have stopped by the national training center but, without financial incentives, they didn’t accept the harsh conditions [at Deva]. It looked like the problem will never be solved, but after several insisting pleas, Ioan Branda, head of the orthopedic section at the Deva hospital and a surgeon, agreed to look after the gymnasts.

Coaches Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang, the ones who managed to convince Dr. Branda to work with the team, had their work cut out for them in light of the latest scandal dealing with the negative aspects the sport might have on the gymnasts’ health. “Besides the salary of only 2-3 million lei/month ($70-$100) given to national team doctors by state laws, everyone was afraid to assume this responsibility,” explained Mariana Bitang. Dr. Branda started working two days ago and the two coaches are relieved to finally have an orthopedic specialist at their side. “Most health problems gymnasts are faced with are orthopedic problems, and it’s important for us to have a specialist close by, who can take care of any injury quickly, so that the missed training time is reduced as much as possible,” added Mariana Bitang.

In other related news, training sessions at Deva have been going according to plan, but 6 of the 15 gymnasts from the extended national senior team have a difficult task ahead, as they have to study for their middle school graduation exams, besides training full-time. Andreea Răducan is in the same situation, but she is studying for her high school graduation exams. The only gymnast from the team who won gold at the Gent Worlds still recovering from her injuries is Silvia Stroescu. Although she is at Deva, she does not train along side her teammates. Silvia is scheduled to undergo more tests in Germany, before she canb resume training. It also looks like Loredana Boboc will leave the team soon, because she is too overweight and cannot lose any more of the extra pounds.

Many thanks to Adrian for contributing the article!

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