Free Time for Carmen Ionescu & Silvia Stroescu

The gym is equipped with balance beams and there�s a vaulting horse set aside. If you were to squint and ignore the old carpeting, you could almost believe you�re at the Olympic training center at Deva. The little girls jumping around in the middle of the gym ruin that effect. They�re just starting to tumble, at a level far below that of the national team members. �I look at them and I can almost see myself a few years ago,� confessed Carmen Ionescu. Going back to Steaua was almost like traveling back in time for Carmen and her teammates Silvia Stroescu and Loredana Boboc. "I was here for 6 years. Then, I made it to Deva. Now we�re back here�,� said Carmen.

Since they�ve returned home, the gymnasts have had time for things they couldn�t normally do while at Deva. �I started reading. It took me more than a month to finish a book when I was at Deva,� recalls Silvia Stroescu. "If we had a lot of competitions, it could even take me 3 months to get to the last page. I started the book Ion. It�s the first book written by Rebreanu (Romanian writer best know for his psychological novels about the effects of WW I on daily life) that I got my hands on,� she said. �I tried going for walks. I even went to a store, but I didn�t buy anything,� said Carmen Ionescu.

None of the them has gotten used to the idea of leaving Deva. �Sometimes when I�m at home watching TV, I get the impression I�m still on the national team. I still can�t believe this is real, even when I go into Steaua�s gym,� added Silvia. "I miss my teammates the most. I have a neighbor who is my age and I spend most of the day with her. It�s not the same, though. Back there, we were a family,� said Carmen. "It�s a shame. I did gymnastics for so long, only to compete at one European Junior Championship and one World Championship�.�, she added

Just like Silvia, she is determined to wait for one month after the European Championships in Patras. She goes to the gym every day at 9 am. She�s the only one who trains properly. Stroescu and Boboc are still rehabbing. Silvia will only be allowed to work on stretching exercises for the next 3 months due to her back problems. While watching Carmen�s beam dismount Silvia adds quietly "I keep thinking. Is it worth it to go back to Deva? With all these scandals�On one hand, the coaches told me I have done nothing wrong, but on the other hand they stick me in the same category with those who are �destroying gymnastics�, as they said.�

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