Tag Archives: catalina ponor

Londonalysis: Romania Still Two Points Behind?

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Izbasa floor pose

One of the big stories of 2012 has unquestionably been the resurgence of the Romanian women’s team.  The 2000 and 2004 Olympic team champions have failed to medal in the team competition at both of the last two world championships, but this year have looked every bit as sharp and consistent as they did when ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We Saw It Coming…Romanians Throw New Vaults!

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Izbasa stare

Larisa Iordache Landing an Amanar and Sandra Izbasa Landing a Cheng:   Sure, these are being done on a relatively soft landing surface, but this is a sign they're likely planning on throwing these in London.  Might Ponor have one up her sleeve as well? Iordache's Amanar looks TOTALLY feasible on a competition surface, while Izbasa's ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Romania Wins It…Random Thoughts on the Womens European Team Final

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Romanians hug

What a thrilling finish to the competition.  Romania continues to look incredible.  After beating Russia two days in a row, they’ll now have to be considered a threat for at least a silver medal in London.  Could gold even be possible?  Not yet, but we can certainly envision how it might become possible…if Iordache adds ...

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More Romanian Greatness…And New Stuff From Ponor

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Ponor leap

2012 Romania vs. Germany vs. Great Britain in Ulm, Germany:   Larisa Iordache Floor   5.9, 14.55   Larisa Iordache Beam   6.8, 15.3   Larisa Iordache Bars   6.2, 14.85   Larisa Iordache Vault   5.8, 15.05   Catalina Ponor Floor   6.2, 14.9   Catalina Ponor Beam   6.4, 15.1   Diana Bulimar Floor   5.8, 14.45   Diana Bulimar Beam   6.0, 14.55   Diana Bulimar Bars   5.7, 13.95   Raluca Haidu Bars   5.5, 13.95   Diana Chelaru Floor   5.9, 14.4   Interesting that Larisa Iordache chose ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Diana Bulimar…The Overlooked Romanian

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Diana Bulimar

Diana Bulimar Floor 2012 Romania vs. France     5.8, 14.4     Diana Bulimar Beam 2012 Romania vs. France     6.0, 14.9   Diana Bulimar Bars 2012 Romania vs. France     5.7, 13.55   With names like Catalina Ponor, Sandra Izbasa, Ana Porgras, and now Larisa Iordache to contend with, Diana Bulimar has perhaps been a bit overshadowed in the last couple of years.  But Bulimar was one ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Romanian Team Coming Alive For London

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Andy Thornton
iordache pose

It’s been a while since we’ve heard a lot of uplifting news from the Romanian women’s delegation.   After losing out on a world medal in 2010, the Romanian team appeared to be gaining momentum in 2011 with the return of its legendary successful coaches, Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang, as well as 2004 Olympic star Catalina ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Olympic Flashback…Catalina Ponor Secures Gold For Romania

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Catalina ponor 2004

Catalina Ponor Floor 2004 Olympics Team Finals     It was one of the most decisive team victories in recent gymnastics history.  Romania, the reigning Olympic champions who had been beaten by the USA at the 2003 world championships and were not necessarily favored for gold in Athens, peaked together beautifully for the Olympic team finals and delivered ...

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some Thoughts On Porgras’ Retirement

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Andy Thornton
ana porgras

I was definitely surprised to see this, even despite her obvious struggles last year – including injuries, failure to upgrade any of her routines (aside from her nice double layout on floor), and failure to medal at the worlds in Tokyo.  Her gymnastics still had an elegance and level of beauty that made her one ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can Catalina Ponor Learn an Amanar?

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Andy Thornton
catalina ponor vault

Catalina Ponor Vault 2011 World Team Finals     Is this vault Amanar-able?   With some work, I think it is.  Although Ponor has always had some form breaks on her vaults, one thing she has always been able to do is develop excellent rotation off the table.  This is why her Yurchenko 1 ½ is always so good and ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

USA Wins It!!!

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Andy Thornton
s team 2011

The team final that most expected would be a tight race between the USA, China, and Russia ended up being a landslide, with the USA easily regaining the world team title it last won in 2007.  The Americans were absolutely rock solid and delivered perhaps their best team performance ever under the pressure-filled, three-up-three-count format.   The ...

Posted in Andy's Angle, Blogs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment