Former Romanian coach Octavian Belu
I wonder if this means that he’ll go back to coaching gymnastics…
The longtime Romanian coach, who led the women’s team to gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, sounded frustrated when he gave this sound byte to Romanian TV:
“I have taken this decision without thinking about my image. The projects are very nice, but they remain just projects. In this moment, the Ministry is blocked because of some reasons we all know. Nobody has anything to sign in the Ministry. In this moment, sport functions from inaction. I hope the problem of the Minister will be solved as soon as possible and positively.
Belu and coaching partner Mariana Bitang were both offered positions with the Romanian Ministry of Sport after they resigned from their gymnastics posts in 2005 after several national team members were photographed sneaking out to a nightclub.
Certainly the state of Romanian gymnastics is not as strong as it once was, but the new generation, including up-and-comer Ana Progras, Larisa Iordache and Amelia Racea, seems promising.
Ana Progras, 2009 Spain vs. Romania, Balance Beam:
By the way, Romanian national team coach Nicolae Forminte reportedly does not have cancer after all, according to this article in Romanian newspaper ProSport. (Thanks, some guy.) The article says that a biopsy revealed that Forminte’s skin growth was benign, as results of a biopsy were negative.
(via Gymnastics Coaching)
August 1, 2009 at 4:28 am |
i love how fluid she is. she never seems to pause