Is Romanian Gymnastics Dying?
Legends are the only things that remain!
All you have to do is visit the Deva Gymnastics High School for one day to get an idea of the current state of Romanian gymnastics. Underneath the old fortress would be the best place to ‘take the pulse’ of local gymnastics and the current situation is very serious, indeed!
The decision of the RGF Executive Committee, in particular sending 8 gymnasts home -due to health problems, but also due to
lack of interest in training, according to a statement from the RGF- could mean the beginning of a downward slide for the Romanian team, one that they would require a huge effort to get out of. Only 9 gymnasts remain on the team, 7 juniors and 2 seniors -Andreea Răducan, who’s been given a grace period of 2 weeks to get down to her competitive weight and Oana Petrovschi. The tragedy of it all is that there are no up-and-comers. “If we look back, we’ll see that every generation had two leaders. They might have been Nadia and Teodora Ungureanu, Silivas and Szabo, Milosovici and Gogean or Amînar and Olaru, but there were always two top contenders on the team. Now, there’s nothing. If we don’t talk about Andreea Răducan, we’re only left with gymnasts who finish in the middle of the pack,” said Octavian Belu, who came back to Deva with assistant coach Mariana Bitang.
The biggest surprise comes when you find out the causes that led to creating this unprecedented situation at Deva. “The girls aren’t willing to put effort into it! They find all sorts of excuses, especially medical reasons, in order to skip training. That’s how we got into the current situation,” said the two coaches, who are sick of not getting credit for their work. “Doing gymnastics is a voluntary activity and we cannot force them to do the sport if they don’t want to. Unfortunately, the girls have managed the great ‘performance’ of drawing the attention of the entire country towards Deva, and basically destroying a legend,” said Belu. The interesting part would be that, except for Silvia Stroescu, who is indeed faced with serious health problems, the rest of the team has been cleared by doctors to resume training. For example, Sabina Cojocar went in for a medical check-up of her shoulder, since she underwent arthroscopic surgery on it, and she was told she can start training again. However, she’s started to complain of pain in her left elbow and her wrists in the meantime.
Clubbing in the dorms
While they were in Bucharest, the two national team coaches were told by the coaches who stayed in Deva that the Olympic Training Center has turned into a mini-club! This happened right after they received confirmation from TV news of the RGF’s decision not a send a team to the European Championships in Greece. All stereos were turned on , with the volume set to the max, and only the intervention of coach Lucian Sandu helped calm down the inexplicable enthusiasm in such a moment of crisis for Romanian gymnastics. “None of them called us to try and save the situation. Or at least, to prove they do care about the fact they represent a national team and should have competed in a European Championship,” clarified Belu. This only serves to emphasize the state of boredom and total lack of interest that exists within the team. “I’m sorry to say, there are no more levers available to try and budge our athletes. They’re starting to think they deserve everything and especially that things can go on like this forever,” said Mariana Bitang.
Breaking the rules
According to the rules governing the national team, agreed upon by all members of the national team last year, the program established by the two head coaches has to be followed down to a T. This signed agreement turned out to be just formal for many of the girls, and the coaches’ leniency was taken as a sign of kindness for the team ‘princesses’. “We made comprise upon compromise in order to make their life better. If we were to apply those rules literally, we wouldn’t have had a national team a long time ago. We thought they would understand this, but things took a completely different turn,” said Octavian Belu.
Set for life
When it comes to the life annuities given to gymnasts, Marian Bitang took a very firm approach. “We were the first ones to fight for these life annuities. But now this effort has turned against us, too and Romanian gymnastics is losing out now. I want to make one thing clear, that I am only talking about gymnastics when I say this, not the other sports. It’s not acceptable to have a gymnast who is only 16 years old and has a life annuity waiting for her, turn her back on gymnastics, satisfied with being a member of a world championhip team –a title she did little to help us earn, as a matter of fact. It would be good if there would be a minimum number of medals required in gymnastics before we even talk about handing out life annuities, “ said Bitang. A very unhappy Octavian Belu added. “I noticed we get more whining then sweat during training! That’s exactly why, I for one am sick of working with little girls who claim to have health problems, even if they are given medical clearance to train. It could be that I am working against their will and I wouldn’t want to be unjustly accused again a few years from now. These girls are starting to think they’re more intelligent than their coaches. I don‘t want people to say Belu coerces his gymnasts and makes them train.”
Overweight
Mariana Bitang’s daily journal includes detailes on the gymnasts’ progress, and not just when about gymnastics skills. When it comes to being overweight, almost all the gymnasts had their name written down. “I talked to them and explained many health problems are related to this extra weight. Despite all the discussions we’ve had, they are yet to understand that you cannot be competitive on the world stage until you reach your optimum weight,” said Bitang. The coaches also asked the gymnasts to answer questions as part of a survey and all of them chorused that they are not well prepared, and injuries, but also lack of discipline are to blame. Oana Petrovschi was among the gymnasts surveyed, and she might be the one who represents our country at Europeans in Greece.
Belu and Bitang will leave after the Romanian International
Mariana Bitang talked about the break between herself and Octavian Belu and the rest of the national team. “We’ll stay at Deva until after the Romanian International. We have a moral duty towards the gymnasts who are set to compete in this event. Afterwards, we could say ‘goodbye!’ " The respected coaches excluded any possibility of going to Greece with the junior or senior team. “I don’t want to sit in the stands and give interviews left and right about the current situation of Romanian gymnastics,” said Belu.
Taking advantage of the team
The national team head coach believes most of the team members did little but take advantage of their status. ‘I never felt they really want to pull for the team. They were happy with their status as team members. Their personal interest was more important. I don’t think we’ll see a new team leader emerging after Andreea Răducan retires in the near future.” Make-belief
The gymnasts left behind them the great training and room and board conditions at Deva. Reports about gymnasts at Deva who train in a bona-fide prison and their meals consist of a salad leaf and a couple of olives, are just stories made up by crazy people, who always want to play the same tape, while trying to create a cheap sensational news-story that doesn’t really exits. The truth is completely different and can only be understood by people who spend time at Deva. That’s what we [the reporters] did, while working on this article. You can add our testimony as eye witnesses that the above is pure nonsense.
Instead of an epilogue
For the past few decades, Deva has been the lab that created the mysterious aura that surrounds Romanian gymnastics. Yesterday, the gym of the sports high school looked too big for the 9 gymnasts who were left to train here. Andreea Ulmeanu, Carmen Ionescu, Sabina Cojocar, Oana Ban, Loredana Boboc, Silvia Stroescu, Melina Druta and Ana-Maria Gavojdea were told they will train at their home clubs from now, and they will go back home. Some of them were startled for a brief moment the second they were given the news. They knew all too well they won’t enjoy the same training conditions at home and this “exile” could well mean the end of their career. Do they understand the importance of this moment? That, through their indifference, they are making a mockery not only of the moral and material investment put into them, but also a history of golden gymnastics? Would they be embarrassed knowing they destroyed the hard work of Nadia, Lavinia, Simona, Gina, Maria, but also the work of coaches Belu and Bitang? Would they have the strength to come back? To get back in the training schedule demanded by the current COP? It’s entirely up to them. The door is still open. They just have to prove they are willing to put in the hard work and make sacrifices. Until then, the 9 girls left in the Deva will feel somewhat awkward. It will be a while until they’ll all stop to watch the routine of a teammate, and none of the mandatory applause required by the successful completion of a difficult skill. They’re left with an emptiness inside, just like coaches Belu and Bitang are, who cannot forget this Olympic Training Center meant everything to them for so long.
Andreea Ulmeanu: "I think we have to respect our coaches’ decision. Unfortunately, I don’t have good training conditions in Timisoara. There were a lot of times when I felt bored. I would see the gymnasts who couldn’t train sitting on the sidelines, and I didn’t feel like doing anything. I admit there were times when I didn’t follow the team rules, meaning I would run away from the dorms to get food, especially sweets
Andreea Răducan: "I decided to keep competing until the end of this year. I would like to compete at Europeans. As far as the lack of discipline inside the team goes, I am stubborn and proud, so I won’t always obey the rules. Maybe my age is to blame. However, I honestly believe I fulfilled my duty towards Romanian gymnastics.”
This attitude was confirmed by the survey the gymnasts filled out, where most of them said they don’t want to compete more than 2 events at the most. In fact, Octavian Belu’s belief was solidified during morning practice, following the official announcement telling them they have to leave the national team, when none of the gymnasts made any attempt to ask for a second chance to compete at Europeans. Maybe this attitude is the best explanation for the lack of interest and discipline that characterized the former national team members. “Up until the last minute, I kept hoping for a miracle might. But I was wrong again,” said Mariana Bitang.
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