Dan Potra Interview

The guest hall at the International Otopeni Airport was opened in honor of the men�s gymnastics team who returned home with 4 gold medals from the European Championships.
�You could say Romania was the biggest surprise of these championships based on our results in the team event and all-around,� said head coach Dan Grecu. �Before leaving for Greece, I said it would be possible to get 4th place, based on previous results. Our guys were unbelievable, though, and our strategy was inspired. We established new record in Patras and I think you�ll get used to them from now on.�

Timisoara native Dan Potra turned into an over night sensation following his all-around victory at the European Championships. He�s still trying to realize he was the one standing above all other competitors at the end of the day. The shy and respectful 25-year old, did not turn down one single reporter, and ended up leaving the airport more exhausted than after a training session.

EZ: Congratulations, Dan Potra! How was Patras?
DP: All�s well that end well. I trained a lot for these European Championships, where I was hoping to be on the podium. The final results exceeded all my expectations. The gold medal in the all-around means a lot to me. The second I finished my last routine I felt something extraordinary, hard to put into words.
EZ: How long have you been doing gymnastics?
DP: Since I was 6 year old. I worked a lot to get here.
EZ: How many days a year do you spend in training camps?
DP: I don�t even know anymore. A lot of them. Actually, we train almost all the time. That�s how gymnastics works. The sacrifices are huge.
EZ: This means you don�t have much free time left?
DP: Something like that.
Z: Do you still have time for girls?
DP: I have a girlfriend in Sibiu. I met her there 3 years ago, when I was in a training camp. Her name is Simina and she�s a [psychology] student there. I would like to spend more time together because we hardly ever see each other�That�s exactly why Simina is trying to transfer to a university in Bucharest.

EZ: The prize money for a gold medal would be a ridiculously small amount for a soccer player, fror example. For you, this means years of work and sacrifices. Do you think this is fair?
DP: If I wanted to make lots of money, I would have been a soccer player! To each his own. It�s true that soccer players make lots of money, sometimes undeservingly. They also have to make some sacrifices, like summer training, but it�s different for us [gymnasts].
EZ: Have you managed to save enough money to buy a house since you started the sport?
DP: Not even close. We just work -work a lot.

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