PUZZLE

At the beginning of the year 16 juniors were selected to  strengthen the Olympic team training at Izvorani. Together with the 4 seniors remained in the post Olympic fight, the new members of the team are now the first offensive  line in the Rio Olympics strategy.

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Daniela Andrei is a gymnast that raised a lot of hopes over the years, being thought to be one of the most talented gymnast of the current generation. Unfortunately she did not live up to her potential yet, being slowed down by health issues and by limited competitive experience. But she keeps fighting, and with more luck, we are sure she can prove her true value. She comes from CSS Buzau club, where she trained with Tanta Patrut and Constantin Clinciu, she then prepared at Onesti junior center and  Deva and Izvorani Olympic centers. She is senior since 2009.

Dana, elegant and precise on beam

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Madalina Blendea, athlete of CNS Cetate Deva club and student of Adela Popa and Ioan Coroiu was a usual presence on the  awarding podiums, dominating her age category until last year when some medical issues have occurred and prevented her from competing since. She is a complete, 4 events gymnast, with very polished executions  and presentations and a special affinity for uneven bars, having  nice lines and good rhythm on this apparatus. She becomes senior in 2015.

Mada and a very promising uneven bars routine

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Diana Bulimar, the reliable soldier of the Olympic team, reinvented through her individual successes at this year’s  Euro’s is a Izvorani team member since 2010. She now represents CS Dinamo Bucharest club but has started gymnastics at CSS 1 Timisoara under Mariana Tomceanu and Marcel Benea and was  later part of Onesti and Deva junior teams. She is a multiple European and Olympic medalist as both a junior and a senior. She always excelled on floor and beam, she was safe and precise on uneven bars for the team and this year she showed great vault potential announcing herself as a powerful contented for big events all-around final. She needs to raise her difficulty level to increase her individual chances. She is senior since 2011.

A golden floor

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Anda Butuc comes from CSS 2 Bucharest club where she was coached by Liliana Plisca, Bianca Abrudean and Ancuta Gheorghe-Dan. In 2012 she was part of Deva junior team. She is a longilin, elegant gymnast, with beautiful posture, highly competitive on beam and uneven bars, needing a bit more work on the leg events. She turns senior in 2016.

Anda,best on beam at Nadia International

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Andreea Ciurusniuc is one of the 3 Steaua gymnasts present at Izvorani, being a talented and dynamic athlete, with great potential on all apparatus. Being under centralized training since 2012,when she was selected for Deva junior team, she made a rapid technical improvement, learning a lot of new elements, and perfecting execution quality. She will be senior eligible in 2016.

A lively floor
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Larisa Iordache is, as we know, our most complete gymnast. Athlete of Dinamo club, discovered by coach Mariana Cimpeanu Silisteanu, Larisa was part of Onesti and Deva junior teams before she was selected for Izvorani Olympic team. She is a multiple European champion and medalist at both junior and senior level and also a team bronze medalist at London Olympics.  She is excellent on beam, floor and vault and has great potential for uneven bars too. Being thought to be one of the best contenders for the all-around titles in London, Larisa could not defend her chances being hampered by a leg injury. “She has explosion and speed. She is a mix of acrobatic complexity and artistic qualities ” (Mariana Bitang). 2013 is her second year as a senior.

Lari’s most recent gold
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Andreea Iridon, one of the most complete gymnasts of the new generation, comes from CNS Cetate Deva club, and was coached by  Adela Popa and Ioan Coroiu. She is an elegant, flexible gymnast with nice extension, she excels on beam and uneven bars but is also competitive on vault and floor. She has yet to gain on consistency. She is one to remember! Becomes senior in 2015.

Complexity and precision – Andreea on uneven bars
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The well-known Sandra Izbasa, double Olympic champion does not need any presentation, we all know her special, unique qualities: she is elegant, powerful and unstoppable. We all learned through the years that we should never underestimate her.  Always adapting and besting herself, Sandra went through different stages: all-around gymnast, beam and floor specialist, floor specialist, vault and floor specialist and again all-around gymnast, every phase having its own medals. And now she still finds motivation and pleasure in doing gymnastics being an extraordinary model of determination and ambition for all little gymnasts  and for all of us.  She began gymnastics at Steaua club under the guidance of  Lia Ceampelea, Eliza Stoica, Angela Cacoveanu, Gheorghe Neagu, Marius Vintila  and Mariana Ristea.

A special floor
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Laura Jurca was part of a very valuable team of gymnasts from CNS Cetate Deva, coached by Adela Popa and Ioan Coroiu. She is a tiny yet powerful gymnast, with great acrobatic abilities. She is constantly improving on her artistic qualities as well. She is an extremely tenacious gymnast. Will be senior in 2015.

A champion’s floor performance
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Teea Milea, currently the only Constanta girl in  Izvorani team, trained at Farul Constanta with coaches: Clementa Garabet, Daniela Maranduca Nicolai and Remus Nicolai. She is a beam and floor specialist being troubled by uneven bars in competitions although she is quite good in training. She will become senior in 2016.

An artist performance – Teea on floor
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Andreea Munteanu, multiple Junior European gymnast last year, represents CNS Cetate Deva club where she trained with  Mirela Dicu, Alexandru Militaru, Lenuta Slabu and Sorin Tolteanu. She was selected for Deva Junior team in 2011 and she made a fast and spectacular improvement, becoming one of the most appreciated young gymnasts in the world for the high quality of her executions. She is excellent on beam and floor, a good vaulter but needs to improve on bars. She will be senior  in 2014.

Andreea – a great floor performance
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Ioana Nicoara is also a CNS Cetate Deva club athlete. She has worked with coaches: Alexandru Militaru, Lenuta Slabu, Sorin Tolteanu and later with Ioan Coroiu and Adela Popa. She is a longilin, elegant and flexible gymnast who improved a lot in the last years. With a bit more confidence she could overcome the completion hesitations that are hindering her. She will be eligible for senior competitions in 2014.

Improving on uneven bars
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Ana Maria Ocolisan, also from CNS Cetate Deva club, student of Alexandru Militaru, Lenuta Slabu, Sorin Tolteanu, is one of the 2 seniors promoted to Izvorani team this year. She is a complete, 4 events gymnast, very clean and precise. She needs to add difficulty to her routines if she wants to be competitive in the international scene.

Concentration and precision – Ana on beam
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Asiana Peng, the little gymnast from CNS Cetate Deva is one of our biggest hopes for Rio 2016. She was trained at Deva by Cristinel Micu, Gina Gogean, Luciana Rusan, Lenuta Slabu, Ioan Coroiu and Adela Popa. She is a very pleasant gymnast, with polished, beautiful execution, explosive and graceful in the same time. The raise in difficulty  will make her a threat for  any international event. She will become senior in the Olympic year.

Asiana, champion’s refinement
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Stefania Stanila, the other new senior of the team, comes also from CNS Cetate Deva where she trained under Mirela Dicu, Alexandru Militaru, Lenuta Slabu and Sorin Tolteanu. She is a Junior European medalist last year, a valuable, powerful gymnast, under technical improvement, more competitive on vault and floor, having very promising acrobatic abilities.

A complex floor routine
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Andra Stoica, a Dinamo club athlete, prepared by coach Mariana Cimpeanu Silisteanu was part of Onesti and later Deva junior teams, where she mastered a great array of skills. She is a powerful, energetic although small gymnast. She is less known,  having a limited competitive experience, but she has what it takes to become a big name of  Romanian gymnastics. She’ll be senior in the Olympic year.

A valuable beam
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Diana Teodoru, the only athlete of  SCM Bacau  present at  Izvorani, club coached by Corneliu and Vasilica Agop, is a gymnast that improved a lot over the last years while training at Onesti and Deva junior teams. She is powerful and energetic. She has yet to gain some consistency but this can only come with experience which in her case is quite limited at the moment. She turns senior next year.

Rhythm and energy
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Paula Tudorache, Dinamo club athlete, discovered and guided by Adriana Musat and Anca Draghici is a special gymnast, very elegant and graceful. She is a beam and bars specialist. By exploiting her artistic potential she can become competitive on floor too. She is in her last year as a junior.

Grace and expressivity
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Cristina Vrabie, a student of  Steaua Bucharest team of coaches (Eliza Stoica, Angela Cacoveanu and Gheorghe Neagu) is a very talented, longilin, elegant gymnast, with clean execution. She has real shots of making the Olympic team being capable of improvement on all events. She’ll be senior in 2016.

A stylish floor
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Silvia Zarzu, one of ours most valuable junior gymnasts, comes from CSM Onesti where she trained with Ileana Hrisca, Luminita Eftimiu and Eugen Grosu. She is a dynamic, charismatic gymnast, strong on floor, vault and beam. She does not have great bars abilities but she can improve on her strongest apparatus becoming a specialist for event finals.

Silvery performance at last year’s Euros
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The coaching staff has also renewed: Octavian Bellu, Mariana Bitang, Ioan Coroiu, Alexandru Militaru, Cristian Moldovan, Lacramioara Moldovan, Adela Popa and Lucian Sandu are now the coaches in charge.