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Symbols
Opening
Nadia Comaneci
Marian Dragulescu
Catalina Ponor
Simona Amanar
Artistic gymnastics
History of a winning nation
Symbols
The Olympic Movement uses symbols to represent the ideals embodied in the
Olympic Charter. The Olympic symbol, better known as the Olympic rings, consists
of five intertwined rings and represents the unity of the five inhabited continents
(Africa, America, Asia, Oceania, Europe). The colored version of the rings—blue,
yellow, black, green, and red—over a white field forms the Olympic flag. These
colors were chosen because every nation had at least one of them on its national
flag. The flag was adopted in 1914 but flown for the first time only at the 1920
Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. It has since been hosted during each
celebration of the Games.
The Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius, a Latin expression meaning "Faster,
Higher, Stronger" was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 and has been
official since 1924. The motto was coined by Coubertin's friend the Dominican
priest Henri Didon OP, for a Paris youth gathering of 1891.
Coubertin's Olympic ideals are expressed in the Olympic creed:
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just
as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The
essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
History of a winning nation
Opening
Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics
Gymnastics events have been contested at every Summer Olympic
Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer
Olympics in Athens. For 32 years, only men were allowed to compete. Beginning
at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete
in artistic gymnastics events as well. Rhythmic gymnastics events were
introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and Trampolining
events were added at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
History of a winning nation
Nadia Elena Comăneci
Nadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian
gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the
1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the first
female gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in
an Olympic gymnastic event. She also won two gold
medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She
is one of the best-known gymnasts in the world. In
2000 Comăneci was named as one of the Athletes of
the Century by the Laureus World Sports Academy.
Nadia Comăneci was born in Onești,
Romania, November 12, 1961, as the daughter of
Gheorghe and Ștefania-Alexandrina Comăneci. Her
mother was inspired to call her Nadia by a Russian film
she watched while pregnant, whose main character
was called Nadya, the diminutive version of the Russian
name Nadezhda, which means "hope". Comăneci also
has a brother four years younger than her, named
Adrian.
History of a winning nation
1980 Olympics and Later Years
At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Russia, Nadia Comaneci won two
gold, for the balance beam and floor exercise (in which she tied with Soviet gymnast
Nellie Kim); and two silver medals, for the team competition and individual allaround. (After coaching the Romanian national team through two Olympiads, Bela
Karolyi defected to the United States in 1981. He later led the nation's gymnastic
program to its first World Championships.)
Comaneci retired from competition in 1984 and worked as a coach for the
Romanian team before defecting to the United States via Hungary in 1989. She
married American gymnast Bart Conner in 1996 and moved to Norman, Oklahoma.
In 1999, Comaneci received a World Sports Award of the Century after being elected
"Athlete of the Century" during a gala in Vienna, Austria.
Comaneci currently does television commentary and writes for gymnastic
publications.
History of a winning nation
Marian Drăgulescu
Marian Drăgulescu is a
Romanian artistic gymnast who
was born on December 18, 1980 in
Bucharest. During his senior
gymnastics career he has won an
impressive number of 26 medals at
Olympic games, World or European
Championships among which eight
gold medals at World
Championships. He excelled in
vault and floor on which he was a
multiple world champion and
Olympic medallist.
History of a winning nation
His name will remain in
the history of gymnastics
not only because of his
world titles on floor (2001,
2002, 2006, 2009) and vault
(2001, 2005, 2006, 2009),
but also because of the
extremely spectacular and
difficult vault named after
him: handspring double
front somersault with half
turn. He was also an
excellent all around
gymnast: On the all around
event he is a European
champion (2004) and a
bronze medallist (2000),
and placed 8th at the 2004
Olympic Games.
History of a winning nation
Cătălina Ponor
Cătălina Ponor, borned on the 20th of
August, 1987, is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She
won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer
Olympics, on balance beam, floor, and as part of
the Romanian team. She also obtained a silver
medal on floor and a bronze medal as part of the
Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, as
well as multiple World Championship and
European Championship medals. At an age that is
considered ancient in the sport of gymnastics, 25
year old Catalina Ponor of Romania announced
her retirement from the sport that has been her
life at the elite level the past 8 years. Fans from
across the globe watched as the Romanian queen
took her final bow during the floor event finals at
the 2012 London Olympics.
History of a winning nation
Simona Amânar
Simona Amânar born October 7, 1979
in Constanţa, is a Romanian former gymnast. She
is a seven-time Olympic medalist and a ten-time
world medalist. Amânar helped Romania to win
four consecutive world team titles (1994–1999)
as well as the 2000 Olympic team title. She has a
vault named after her, the Amanar. She was
inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall
of Fame in 2007. The hallmarks of Amânar's
gymnastics include her powerful vaulting skills
and consistency, although she was criticized for
her lack of expression and along with her
teammates, was considered weak on the uneven
bars.
History of a winning nation
Artistic gymnastics
1. Men compete on six events: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel
Bars, and High Bar
2. Women compete on four: Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise.
Our Impresion:
Romania has a great history and to all of us it is an amazing legacy to take on.