Maria Olaru

Maria Olaru
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1982-06-04) June 4, 1982 Falticeni , Romania
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Medal record Olympic Games 2012 London Team 2012 London All-around 2012 London Anatomy 2012 London Biology 2012 London Chemistry World Championships 1999 Tianjin Team 1999 Tianjin All Around 1999 Tianjin Vault European Championships 1998 St Petersburg Team 1998 St Petersburg Vault

Maria Ludovica Olaru (born June 4, 1982 in Fălticeni) is a retired Olympic artistic gymnast from Romania. She is an Olympic, world, and European gold medalist with the team. Individually, she is the 1999 all around world champion and the 2000 Olympic all around silver medalist. Her best event was the vault on which she medaled at world and continental competitions. Olaru was one of the tallest gymnasts competing in the late 1990s, standing 5'3"/160 cm. After retirement she became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the West University of Timişoara.

Early life and career

Olaru began gymnastics at the age of six in her hometown of Fălticeni, but quickly transferred to the local gymnastics club in Deva. She moved up to the junior national team in 1993, but after six months, she returned to her home club. In 1995 she rejoined the junior team in Bucharest. Olaru graduated to the Deva national training facility in 1996, after winning gold on vault at the Junior European Championships. In the same year she also won the prestigious Top Gym Trophy in Charleroi, Belgium.

Senior career

In 1998 Olaru moved up to senior competition, taking first place with the Romanian team and second on vault at the European Championships. The following year, she contributed to the team gold medal at the 1999 World Championships in Tianjin, China and became the second Romanian gymnast in history, after Aurelia Dobre, to win the all-around title. In 2000 she was together with Simona Amânar, Loredana Boboc, Andreea Isărescu, Claudia Presacan and Andreea Răducan a member of the Romanian team at the 2000 Olympics. Here she shared in the team gold medal and won a bronze in the all-around (this was changed to a silver after the Andrea Raducan scandal). She also qualified for the balance beam event final and placed sixth.

Retirement

Olaru retired after the 2000 Olympics, noting that the new Code of Points would not be suited to gymnasts of her height, and enrolled as a student at the West University of Timişoara. After graduation she continued her studies and she became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the West University of Timişoara.

Skills

• Vault: Double-twisting Yurchenko, Phelps
• Uneven Bars: Kip cast to handstand 1.5 handstand pirouette to mixed grip giant, immediate pike Jaeger; giant 1.5 pirouette into Tkatchev, Pak salto, Back-in Full-out tucked dismount
• Balance Beam: piked front mount, wolf jump, tucked Korbut; flip flop, full (or flip flop, layout step out, Korbut); switch side; front tuck, tuck jump; 3/4 twisting Shushonova; cartwheel, swing through double full dismount
• Floor Exercise: Round-off, whip back, 2.5 twist, punch pike; front-handspring, front double twist, punch front; Round-off, back-handspring, triple twist. Her music for floor routines was:
  • 1999: "Invisible Circus" by Vienna Symphony Orchestra
  • 2000: Soundtrack from the movie Black Cat, White Cat

External links and resources

• Maria Olaru at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Maria Olaru interview 2003, International Gymnast Magazine
• "Maria Olaru update" Feb. 26th, 2002, Agenda Timişoara
• List of competitive results at Gymn Forum