May 212014
 

In Sofia, between 12 and 18 May the 30th edition of the European Women Gymnastics Championships wrote its story. The medal record is already history: gold for the senior team (Larisa Iordache, Diana Bulimar, Andreea Munteanu, Stefnia Stanila and Silvia Zarzu), gold on floor, silver on beam, bronze on vault and 6th place on uneven bars for Larisa Iordache, 4th place on floor for Diana Bulimar, bronze for the junior team(Laura Jurca, Andreea Iridon, Anda Butuc, Andreea Ciurusniuc and Andra Stoica), silver in the all-around, silver on vault and 5th place on floor for Laura Jurca, silver on beam, silver on floor, 6th place in the all-around for Andreea Iridon and 6th place on beam for Anda Butuc.

Although a very productive Euro edition for team Romania we have to think of it as just a step to the bigger goal: a medal at the upcoming Olympic Games. Hopefully the beautiful moment from Sofia will turn out to be a just the beginning of a long line of successes.

Puzzle team was present body and soul in Sofia both in the media space and in the supporters’ area. As we couldn’t stay away, our hearts beat with and for them in all those moments. Results are history and memories we will keep with us forever. We want to share with you some of the special moments the Romanian fans have experienced at these Euros. Here are the gymnasts for whom the Romanian fans sighed for with emotion, joy, regret or indignation:

Romania’s senior team (Unstoppable in the team final)

Romania’s junior team (Overcoming beginners nerves and lack of experience )

Laura Jurca (Managing an extremely difficult moment on the uneven bars)

Andreea Iridon (So close to gold. The fans believed in it: “Bravo Andreea!, Bravo Andreea!…)

Larisa Iordache (Best gymnast in Sofia)

 Roxana Popa (We are so proud of her!  “Hai Roxana, Hai Roxana!..”)

Noemi Makra (So beautiful and so underrated… Romanian fans loved her!)

Anna Pavlova (Impossible not to love Anna Pavlova! “Davai Anna!”)

Becky Downie (A much expected medal. Romanian fans appreciated her value.)

Maike Enderle (German girls were favorites in the UB junior final)

Claudia Fragapane (Appreciating even the most dangerous competitors)

Apr 302014
 

 The Doha World Cup is quickly becoming the season start favourite for the Romanian senior team. For the second year in a row, the top WAG and MAG Romanian gymnasts were sent to compete at this event, with Larisa Iordache, Diana Bulimar (who is coming back from a knee injury that kept her out of the 2013 Worlds), Andrei Muntean, Marius Berbecar and Vlad Cotuna all competing for the first time this season. Last year, the Romanian team (which also included Flavius Koczi, now retired) won 6 medals here and Larisa competed two vaults for the first time, moving on to medal on this apparatus at the European Championship (silver).

Read more on the romaniangymnast website

Nov 302013
 

The 2013 edition of Elite Gym Massilia, held between 16 and 17 November, was a very nice occasion to see a very strong Romanian team at work (composed of seniors Larisa Iordache, Ana Maria Ocolisan, Stefania Stanila and junior Andreea Munteanu) a team that decisively won the gold medal in front of Russia and UK representatives.

The winner of the individual all around was, as expected, Romania’s Larisa Iordache followed by the young Romanian hopeful, Andreea Munteanu. Ana Maria Ocolisan and Stefania Stanila finished the competition in 9th and 21st places.

In the event finals day the fabulous  duo Iordache – Munteanu dominated their strongest events, Larisa winning the two gold medals on beam and floor whereas Andreea was second on both events. Moreover Larisa earned a silver on vault, an event final where Ana Maria Ocolisan finished in 5th place.

Here are our girls best routines from the competition:

Larisa Iordache – the most difficult beam routine of the year 2013 (D = 6.9)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQhRdG90HrA

Andreea Munteanu – beam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWF7BxP4qs0

Larisa Iordache -floor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=815IEExF8Xk

Andreea Munteanu – floor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOaLIkabWRk

Ana Maria Ocolisan – vault

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jO2SiTdFBE

 

Nov 192013
 

Larisa Iordache opened with great success her post-Worlds competition series, winning both the Arthur Gander Memorial (30 October) and the Swiss Cup(3 November). For the second trophy she teamed up with young talented gymnast Andrei Muntean.

Let’s see the beam exercise that helped the team win the Swiss Cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcjzK44WBTg

May 062013
 

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 AndreiDaniela 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 BlendeaMadalina 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 BulimarDiana 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 ButucAnda 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 CiurusniucAndreea 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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IordacheLarisa 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 IridonAndreea 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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Sandra IzbasaThe 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 JurcaLaura 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 MileaTeea 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 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 NicoaraIoana 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 OcolisanAna 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 Li-Da PengAsiana 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 Alina StanilaStefania 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 StoicaAndra 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 TeodoruDiana 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 Cristina TudorachePaula 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 VrabieCristina 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 ZarzuSilvia 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.

Mar 302013
 
WAG-Floor-Podium-QAT2013

Floor Podium
© Dohagym

Larisa Iordache and Diana Bulimar succeeded exceptional results at Doha FIG World Challenge Cup, Larisa earning 1 gold on beam and 2 silvers on vault and floor while Diana took the gold on floor. In addition, Diana was 4th on beam and 5th in the uneven bars final where she was followed by Larisa on 6th place.

More details about the competition on Romanian Gymnast website:

The 2013 edition of the Doha World Cup presented itself as the last important meet for the Romanian WAG and MAG teams before the European Championships next month. Most of the gymnasts on the provisional list for Moscow were present here: Larisa Iordache, whom we got to see for the first time this season, Diana Bulimar, Flavius Koczi, Marius Berbecar, Andrei Muntean and Daniel Rădeanu. Read more

 

Dec 062012
 

© COSR

General Info

Name: Larisa Andreea Iordache
Born 19 June 1996
Bucharest
Club: CS Dinamo Bucharest (since 2010)
CSS 7 Dinamo Bucharest (until 2010)
Club coaches: Mariana Campeanu-Silisteanu and volunteer assistant coaches Raluca Suciu Popescu and Valadimir Potop
Member of Onesti Junior National Team from 2007 to 2009
Onesti Junior National Team coaches: Cristian Moldovan, Lacramioara Moldovan, Aurica Nistor, Daniel Nistor (head coach), coach-choreographer Carmen (Bogasiu) Ruja
Member of Deva Junior National Team from 2009 to 2010
Deva Junior National Team coaches:  Ramona Micu, Cristian Moldovan, Lacramioara Moldovan, Gheorghe Orban (head coach), Adela Popa, Corina Doreanu (choreographer)
Member of  Olympic Team from 2010
Izvorani Olympic Team coaches (2010-2012): Octavian Bellu (head coach), Maria Bitang (head coach), Raluca Bugner, Liliana Cosma (2010), Florin Cotutiu, Lucian Sandu, Marius Vintila, choreographer Mariana Ristea, independent choreographer Adriana Pop
Izvorani Olympic Team coaches (since 2013): Octavian Bellu (head coach), Maria Bitang (head coach), Ioan Coroiu, Alexandru Militaru (2013), Cristian Moldovan, Lacramioara Moldovan, Adela Popa, Lucian Sandu

Competition Results

  • 2014: Challenge Cup, Doha (FIG World Challenge Cup, C III) – 1st place BB, VT and FX; Friendly Meet Fra-Bel-Rou, Avoine – 1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA; European Championships, Sofiagold medal with team Romania, gold medal floor, silver medal beam, bronze medal vault, 6th place UB; Senior Nationals – 1st place AA, 1st place VT, UB and FX, 2nd place BB; Friendly Meet Ger-Rou-Sui, Obbersiggenthal – 2nd place with team Romania, 1st place AA; World Championships, Nanning – 4th place with team Romania, silver medal all-around, silver medal floor, 5th place BB; Arthur Gander Memaorial, Chiasso – 2nd place; winner of the Chiasso City Cup (for the best FX);  Swiss cup, Zurich – 7th place with Marius Berbecar; World Cup, Stuttgart (FIG World Cup, CII) – 1st place AA; World Cup, Glasgow (FIG World Cup, CII) – 1st place AA
  • 2013: Challenge Cup, Doha (FIG World Challenge Cup, C III) – 1st place BB, 2nd place VT and FX, 6th place UB; European Championships, Moscowsilver medal all-around, gold medal balance beam, silver medals vault and floor exercise; Challenge Cup, Anadia (FIG World Challenge Cup, C III) – 1st place BB and FX; Senior Nationals – 2nd place with team Dinamo Bucuresti, 1st place AA, 1st place UB and BB, 2nd place FX; World Championships, Antwerp – 4th place all-around, bronze medal floor, 7th place balance beam; Arthur Gander Memorial, Morges – 1st place; Swiss cup, Zurich – 1st place with Andrei Muntean; Master Massilia Cup – 1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA, 1st place BB and FX, 2nd place VT; World Cup, Stuttgart (FIG World Cup, CII) – 2nd place AA; World Cup, Glasgow (FIG World Cup, CII) – 1st place AA
  • 2012: American Cup, New York (FIG World Cup, C II) – 3rd place AA; Challenge Cup, Doha (FIG Challenge Cup, C III) – 4th place UB; Friendly meet Fra-Rou, Cholet – 1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA (1st scores VT and FX); Friendly Meet Ger-Fra-Rou, Ulm – 1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA (1st scores VT, UB, BB); European Championships, Bruxellesgold medal with team Romania, gold medal floor, silver medal balance beam, withdrawn from UB final (qualified from 8th place – 9th score of qualifications); Friendly Meet Rou-Fra-Ger-Ita, Bucharest – 1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA (best scores BB and FX); Olympic Games, London bronze medal with team Romania, 9th place AA, 6th place BB
  • 2011: Championnat de France DN1, Toulouse – 1st place with team Alliance Dijon Gym (1st AA); Gym Festival, Trnava – 1st place AA, 1st place UB, BB and FX; Friendly Meet Gbr-Rou, Lilleshall – 1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA; European Youth Olympic Festival, Trabzon silver medal with team Romania, gold medals all-around, balance beam and floor, silver medals vault and uneven bars; Grand Prix, Catania – 2nd place UB
  • 2010: Gymnix Junior Cup, Montreal – 2nd place BB, 7th place UB; Friendly Meet Fra-Gbr-Rou, Arques – l1st place with team Romania, 1st place AA (juniors); Romanian Internationals, Bucharest – 6th place AA – outside of competition, best scores in FX and BB finales, 2nd score in VT final, 3rd score in UB final – outside of competition; Junior European Championships, Birminghamsilver medal with team Romania, bronze medal all-around, gold medal floor, silver medal balance beam, 4th place VT; Senior Nationals – 2nd place with team CS Dinamo, 1st place AA, VT, UB, BB, FX (hopefuls division); Tournoi International, Schiltigheim – 1st place AA, UB, BB, FX, 2nd place VT
  • 2009: Junior Team Nationals – 1st place AA (category II); Bosfor Cup, Istanbul – 1st place AA, VT, UB, BB, FX; Seniors Nationals – 1st place AA, VT, BB, FX, 2nd place UB (hopefuls division); Junior Individual Nationals – l2nd place AA, 1st place VT, UB, BB, 2nd place FX (category II); Coupe Avenir, Malmedy – 1st place with team Romania, 2nd place AA, 1st place VT, UB, FX; Top-Gym, Charleroi – 3rd place with team Slovenia – Romania, 1st place AA and BB, 7th place UB
  • 2008: Pre Olympic Youth Cup, Bergisch Gladbach – 1st place AA; Junior Team Nationals – 1st AA (category III); Junior Individual Nationals – 2nd place AA, 1st place BB, 2nd place VT, 4th place UB, 8th place FX (category III); Top Gym, Charleroi – 4th place AA, l1st place FX, 2nd place BB; Challenge International, Woluwe Saint Lambert – 4th place AA
  • 2007Junior Team Nationals – 3rd AA (category III); Coupe Avenir, Malmedy – 2nd place with team Romania, 2nd place AA; Tournoi du Blanc Mesnil – 6th place with team Romania, 2nd place AA, 1st place BB and FX; Junior Individual Nationals– 1st place AA, 1st place UB and BB, 2nd place FX, 3rd place VT(category III); Tournoi International Arques – 1st place BB
  • 2006School Nationals – 3rd place AA, 1st place VT and FX, 4th place UB, 7th place BB (category IV); Little Gymnast Nationals – 5th place with team CSS 7- CS Dinamo Bucharest, 3rd place AA, 1st place BB and FX (category IV); Junior Team Nationals – 45th AA (category III); Junior Individual Nationals – 16th place AA (category III); participation in Voronin Cup, Moscow
  • 2005: School Nationals – 4th place AA, 3rd place BB and FX, 4th place VT, 7th place UB (category IV); Little Gymnast Nationals – 2nd place with team CSS7 – CS Dinamo Bucharest, 3rd place AA, 2nd place BB, 3rd place UB and FX, 4th place VT (category IV)
  • 2004 : School Nationals – 7th place with team CSS 7 Dinamo Bucharest, 51st place AA (category IV); Little Gymnast Nationals– 83rd AA score (outside of competition)

Please also visit Larisa Iordache online  and Larisa Iordache – fan site !