Maria Olaru Speaks Out

Original article was published on December 3rd inCurierul National

Maria Olaru talked to Curierul National about the way the scandal relating to Milosovici, Ungureanu, and Presacan posing nude has affected her.
CN: Maria, is it true you were the first gymnast from Romania to be contacted by the Japanese magazine?
MO: No. There is some truth to that, but things are a bit different. I was asked to pose for Playboy, but I turned them down. A few months ago, Corina called me and asked me if I wanted to come to Japan with her and Lavinia for a charity event to raise money for disadvantaged children.
CN: And did you believe that’s how things stood…?
MO: No, because I saw some pictures of them in bath robes. I thought it was strange then. That’s probably how Piti (Claudia) got involved. I don’t think she knew where she was going and what she was going to do. Moreover, Corina was never friends with her. On the contrary, she always talked behind her back. I don’t want people to think I don’t approve of what they’ve done –that’s their problem- but I don’t want my name to be associated with this scandal and their actions.
CN: There’s been talk that gymnasts didn’t win enough money while they were competing. Is that true?
MO: It’s completely wrong. There are bank statements at the Youth & Sports Department that prove how much money we won. When she quit gymnastics, Lavinia Milosovici had around $250,000 in her bank account. To that, you add the money she won from galas and demonstrations. So it wasn’t all that bad.
CN: How much money was their contract [with the Japanese magazine] worth?
MO: They say $40,000. I know it was worth $15,000 and they actually only got around $8,000 in hand. I know they were the upset the Japanese people paid them so little.
CN: Why do you think Romanian gymnasts are asked to pose nude?
MO: They’re only interested in their fame. Being an Olympic champion is no small feat. As for the rest, I don’t even want to comment on it, but I don’t think a magazine like that is appropriate for them [Milo & Co.]…
CN: Why won’t they talk to you anymore?
MO: Corina posed in Japan every year and she went and told Lavinia and Claudia that no one in Romania will find out. However, when the pictures were published in the Romanian press, they accused me of being the one who told reporters. I don’t have anything to with this, though. I was very good friends with Corina,and she should know I wouldn’t have done anything like that. Now, they don’t want to talk to me; they even changed their phone numbers. I’m just shocked/disgusted (hard to tell exactly which one she means from the context, and the word can be translated as either one in English).
CN: What are you doing now?
MO: I’m a student at two different universities and I tech at a kindergarten. I have very little free time and that’s great. I also tried going on a diet, because I gained some weight since I retired, but I couldn't really stick to it. That’s life.

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