Lowered Expectations
Original article was published on July 31st in Gazeta Sporturilor
�Nothing is set in stone, not even now. The team will be finalized only on August 6th,� confessed Octavian Belu, head coach of the women�s gymnastics team. The preliminary list handed in to the RGF executive committee consists of seven names: Floarea Leonida, Oana Ban, Alexandra Eremia, Alexandra Munteanu, Catalina Ponor, Dana Sofronie and Monica Rosu. The only possible change foreseen by the coaches would be due to Florica�s injury suffered during the dual meet against Italy. "Leonida is recovering slowly, but she�s on the right track. I hope she won�t have any problems, because we need her,� added the coach.
�This isn�t a team whose competitive experience is its main advantage, I�ll admit that. The only gymnast from Deva who�s won a World championship with the team is Silvia Stroescu, but she�s missing. That�s why our goal for Worlds, qualifying for the Olympics and winning one or two medals is more realistic than daring. � Adrian Stoica�s statement cannot be applied to the men�s team who consists of Ioan Suciu, Marian Dragulescu, Marius Urzica, Dan Potra, Razvan Selariu and Constantin Covaci, who have already won many world medals among themselves. Urzica�s been dominating pommel horse competitions since the 1994 Brisbane Worlds; Dragulescu wants to repeat his performance from the 2001 Worlds, while Potra and Suciu are both experienced gymnasts. �We�ve gotten used to doing well and winning a lot of medals, but we can�t hazard any big-time predictions,� explained Dan Grecu, the men�s team head coach.
The Romanian delegation is leaving for Anaheim on August 8th and they�ll be staying at Coast Hotel. The hotel is located next to the competition venue, which is used as a hockey rink during the hockey season as the home arena of recent Stanley Cup finalists, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Worlds are bound to cause coach Dan Grecu a few headaches, since he�s also a judge for the men�s competition. "They�ll draw the men�s judging panels once we get to Anaheim. There�s a chance I�ll even miss the competition [because I will be judging instead of coaching],� he concluded.
Back to Articles Page