| 07. Alexandra Marinescu, former Romanian National Team Member (1994 - 1998), gymnastics. There are eight interviews/articles presented. a. Original article appeared in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’, March 6, 2002. Alexandra Marinescu’s Story In 1995, a beautiful girl appeared in Deva and everybody was saying that she would be the second Nadia. Blond, with blue eyes and a snub-nose, Alexandra Marinescu proved to have the qualities of a great gymnast winning the junior European champion in 1994 when she was still training in Bucharest with trainer Eliza Stoica. The talent scouts from Deva noticed her and the little girl from Bucharest went on her way to the training-centre in Deva. After a short period of time and under the guidance of Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang, she made quick progress and in 1995, she won the World title with the team in Sabae, Japan. A year later, at the Worlds in Porte Rico, she won a silver medal on beam and in the summer, she was the member of the team that won bronze at the Olympics in Atlanta. She continued her progress in 1997, when the Romanian team won gold in Lausanne at the World championships. That was her last success, because just a few months later, her career ended abruptly, even before it was fully completed. In the spring of 1997, during the tri-meet with China and America, Alexandra was complaining about back pain but back in Romania, the examinations didn't reveal anything. "It was mostly done for the form, and they just told me there was nothing wrong with me," remembers Alexandra. After the World championships in Lausanne, the problems got worse and a better-prepared x-ray showed an old fracture on her spine. By now it was already autumn when doctors recommended her to wear a corset and brought it to her attention that there was a huge risk she would be paralyzed. "Of course I decided to stop immediately, but it was already a little bit too late, I competed all that time with this fracture I had no idea I had," said Alexandra. Because of this, that she didn't spare herself, as she should have, her back remained affected and after a while, the consequences began to show. In 2000, she underwent her first back operation, where a pin was put in to support the vertebrae. Just a couple of months later the pin broke when Alexandra sneezed. She was operated on her back for the second time to put the pin back. In the end, a year later, the gymnast had to be operated on her back again for a third time to have the pin removed and for a bone transplant. After the transplant, the doctors considered that the bone would begin to grow back naturally. This is the ordeal of a gymnast who's almost 21 years old. Forgotten by the gymnastics world, Alexandra lives in Deva together with her boyfriend Alin, in a studio that she managed to buy with the little money she made in gymnastics. "My only income is my life annuity from the Ministry of Youth and Sports," says Alexandra, who had to give up on attending the Sports University, where she was a student, because of her back problems. Now she lives with the hope of finding something else in her life but also with the painful memories of everything she had to go through. Beyond her back problems, Alexandra has a series of other problems, never being a favoured gymnast. "I'm sure that, if the trainers in Deva hadn't forced me, my back problems could have been prevented. They knew the risk, but they kept on insisting that I did an extremely risky landing on beam. I told them that my back hurt, but the trainers said to me: "It will pass, it's just because you gained weight," remembers Alexandra, with tears in her eyes. "Even when they told the trainers about the fracture and the risk of me being paralyzed, they still tried to convince me to stay. Alexandra can never forget how these trainers took away her chances of winning an individual medal at a competition. In 1996, at the Olympics in Atlanta, Alexandra qualified for the individual competition but the trainers told her that Simona Amanar would replace her. "That was the beginning. I didn't protest and gave up my place to Simona, officially withdrawing because of injury," says Alex. A year later, at the World championships in Lausanne, the situation repeated itself. Alexandra qualified for individual final but Octavian Belu and Nicolae Vieru decided to substitute her with Simona Amanar. "It was just too much. I knew that even this time I had my chances and after all, I earned this place in the final. There was nobody I could talk to, those two told me they had made the decision and in the end Simona competed in my place and I was, as usual, 'injured'. That was my last chance, because just a few months later I found out about this fracture that was kept a secret from me." Her story doesn't seem real, almost like a film, because of the incredible facts that have emerged and it doesn't even stop there. Alexandra continues about the tragic series of events and about the treatment to which she was subjected, even in Atlanta. Mentally marked by the trainer's decision to take her out of the individual competition and overwhelmed by the pain in her back, Alexandra fell off beam twice. Being watched by 50.000 people in the huge 'Georgia Dome' and by billions of TV viewers, Alexandra saluted the judges and public trembling, with tears in her eyes. She went up to Octavian Belu, who yelled at her: "Get the hell out of this hall!" "He sent me out, and a gymnast isn't used to leaving after an exercise. Probably so that they couldn't see I was crying," remembers the gymnast and the tears are flowing again. About the moment that Alexandra was replaced in the individual final in Lausanne and Atlanta, Octavian Belu says that the replacement was justified, because of national interest and because Simona Amanar was much better on all four apparatus. "However, I didn't make this decision but the Federation. Alexandra agreed. If she would have said no, I couldn't have replaced her." Looking at her back injury Belu says that it's not true that the gymnast was forced to train. "I have never forced anyone to go beyond their limits. We work on a base of medical advice and I can't know what kind of risk there is while a gymnast has the approval of the Sport Medicine Institute, declared Belu. b. The following article is a synopsis taken from a March 7, 2002 Romanian TV interview. Alexandra Marinescu appeared on Romanian TV for an interview. She explained that the interview that was published in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’ was taken some time ago but they probably didn't have the space to print it sooner. She didn't want to cause a scandal with it. The person conducting the interview on television, Mihaela Tatu, isn't familiar with gymnastics so she asked Alexandra to tell her about her life as a gymnast. Alexandra had tears in her eyes when she was telling her about it and her voice was trembling. She asked how life in Deva was and she said that it was tougher than the army and her relationship with her parents was much colder after she left. Alexandra said that she thinks the reason why they didn't like her, was that she didn't want to transfer from Triumf to another club. She was smiling when she was talking about the time that she trained there as a junior, with Eliza Stoica, and that she (Alexandra) wanted to stay to practice more but Eliza said that she will do well at competitions and that it was time to leave. Tatu asked how they adapted to life in Deva and she said that at first, all the girls were phoning home, they wanted to leave. Some of them left, but Alexandra adapted quite easily compared to others. Tatu kept on asking questions about life in Deva, for instance, what happened when they were sick. Alexandra said that they were given pills but they made her dizzy, but the training was lighter when they were sick. Tatu asked what about when they had their periods, and Alexandra said that they never had their periods because of the hard training. When asked about the toughness of the training, if they were sworn at or yelled at, she tried to avoid answering the question as much as possible but in the end a little yes came out and she explained that especially before a competition, the atmosphere was 'heavy'. If they made mistakes, they had to do it over and over again until it was right. Even when they did have a good training session, the trainers didn't tell them that they did a good job today or gave them compliments, only very rare. Alexandra said that she prefers the American way of training, that every gymnast is trained by her own coach and that the coaches are more patient. She said that she wasn't beaten too much compared to some of the others, who were beaten more; she told them that she can't train that way. The two years that she has been living with her boyfriend Alin now, she hasn't been back to see the team very often. She also said that gymnastics made her used to being controlled, even after she retired, until somebody opened her eyes. Many people phoned to give her their opinion but of course they didn't know what was going on and what they were talking about. The interviewer said "We have a phone call and Bitang was on the line. She said that they never knew what was wrong with Alexandra's back. Tatu asked her how they motivate the gymnasts, just by telling them they can win a medal? And Bitang said that it's the most important thing. Bitang wished Alexandra good health and all the best. Belu on the phone: He too says that they didn't know what was wrong with her back and that they aren't doctors and that if Alexandra would be a coach one day, she will understand the way they acted and that it's very difficult for the coaches too, but he heard that Alexandra doesn't want to be a coach. When Tatu was trying to get him to tell her about the way they treated gymnasts, he was almost screaming and continued what he was saying so that Tatu couldn't get a word in. He concluded by saying that Alex is very beautiful (she looked stunning) and that he hopes that everything will turn out well for her. In the end, Alex said that she wants to be a DJ because she likes it very much. She was different from Corina Ungureanu, by the way she spoke. Alexandra didn't really wanted to say anything bad about Deva, she tried to avoid the questions and kept on saying that she realizes that she had to work hard to win and she avoided to name people, even if it was obvious who she meant. Representatives of the Romanian Federation specified, in a press release, that Alexandra Marinescu was diagnosed with Scheuermann's disease on the 24th October 1997 and that she had to stop training from that moment onwards. The officials from the Federation also uphold that no connection can be made between the gymnast's activity and Scheuermann's disease, adding that Marinescu probably didn't understand that. "It's probably the easiest thing to accuse the trainers... but we haven't noticed, up until now, any accusation pointing towards the fact that they coached her in a way so that she became a European and World Champion and an Olympic medallist.... We haven't heard any accusation pointing towards the fact that Alexandra benefits from a life annuity of a higher value than the salary of both accused trainers combined..." said the press release. Some articles appeared in the papers in which Alexandra Marinescu, multiple Junior European Champion, World Champion with the team in 1995 and 1997, and bronze medallist with the team at the Atlanta Olympics, accused the trainers of the national team of forcing her to train, even though she had back problems. In the press release, the Federation specifies that the National Sport Medicine Institute monitor the activities of gymnastics in Romania. "The truth is that Alexandra Marinescu had the medical approval 'Fit to train and compete' after all the special examinations, including one on the 26th of May 1997, that was valid until the 26th of September 1997, so covering her taking part at the World Championships in Lausanne from the 31st of August till the 7th of September 1997, the documents are in the archive," said the press release. In 1997, Alexandra Marinescu retired as a gymnast because of her back problems. c. This article originally appeared in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’, March 9, 2002. Yesterday, Octavian Belu phoned Gazeta about the Marinescu article, which revealed shocking material. Calmly, Octavian Belu gave his point of view about it all, trying to explain that neither he, nor his colleagues are guilty in the drama of Alexandra. The discussion lasted almost an hour. Octavian Belu specified that it's confidential and that's why he won't go into details. Mariana Bitang agreed and didn't want to make her point of view publicly. The trainers probably wanted to avoid getting into the argument and preferred to keep their opinion to themselves, in the hope that peace would come back to the world of gymnastics again. I (reporter Andrei Nourescu) respect their wish, but I can't refrain from making any comments in the side-line about this case. Without going into any details, Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang said, by and large, that they weren't responsible for replacing Alexandra in the individual final at the Olympics in Atlanta and at Worlds in Lausanne, and that they can't be charged with the serious health problems of the gymnast. In their opinion, hidden forces have made a conspiracy to publish what happened to Alexandra, exactly in the week that Simona Amanar is getting married and just before the European Championships. I assure them, with all due respect, that they aren't right. Both trainers think that the journalists who wrote about the case, were out to cause havoc, and wanted a scandal. Here too, I wonder if Belu and Bitang are close to reality. In the first place, purely talking from a journalist's point of view, I can't imagine which reporter would have Alexandra's declarations and would keep them in a drawer. It would be condemned in this case, because the revelation made by the gymnast is impressive and deserved to be made public, with risks for the journalist, who can be banned from the circle close to this sport, and for Alexandra, for the accusations she has made. Taking over Alexandra's declarations doesn't automatically mean that the journalist or the paper assumes all of this, the reason probably why Octavian Belu is contradicting prompt what his former gymnast is saying but taking over somebody's declaration doesn't mean that you share it. I would like to stop at another aspect. I don't think that anyone can doubt the value, knowledge and all the work that the trainers Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang do. They have left their home, their family, to spend most of their life in a room at the boarding school. Alexandra Marinescu surely respects that, but however, she has dared to reproach them for the fact that they took her out of the individual final twice, at the Olympics in Atlanta and at Worlds in Lausanne, where, and forgive me, the gymnast had the right to compete. Surely the trainers replaced her for national interest of winning a better medal, and often said, nobody doubts that and the goal is noble, but the problem is that it took away Alexandra's personal right to defend the chances that she gained and nobody else. If the change was made in the team, nobody would have objected, but here we are talking, if you please, about the individual competition, and without having the rules in my hand, I doubt that these kind of replacements are allowed, mostly because in both cases Alexandra was declared 'injured'. The girl only gave her opinion that she doesn't think it's fair that somebody decided to take her out of the competition. They are playing God with her work, the results, and in the end, with her fate! Because a medal in Lausanne would have meant lots of money and Alexandra never got a second chance, because a month later, doctors discovered the fracture in her back. You can sum up the problem in this way: For the 100 meter final, the athlete that qualified can be replaced by a colleague who didn't qualify just because he's in better shape? The answer is clear and I'll let you answer that for yourself. Looking at Alexandra's opinion, that if the trainers hadn't forced her, while she was pointing out that she had problems, the aggravation of the fracture, almost up to being paralyzed, could have been avoided. Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang support the fact that they worked with the gymnast while she had the approval of the Sport Medicine Institute. Nobody doubts that, and Alexandra doesn't claim that she was trained without approval. The problem is that the last approval was from the 26th of May 1997, that's valued for 3 months (!!!). Theoretically, in three months a gymnast couldn't have any problems, based on an approval that is given from 400km distance. Alexandra says now, that in June and July, she had crippling pains, she groaned to the trainers that she couldn't train but they just insisted that she did a landing that crumbled her spine, "come on, there's nothing wrong with you, you just gained weight, that's why you can't do it." The approval was given in May, in Bucharest that was the problem, wasn't it? The problem was seen much too late, three back operations and a real risk of being paralyzed. I want to conclude with the press release from the Federation, which shows how indifferent and without scruples the officials of the Federation are towards Alexandra's drama. No trace of regret, just explanations that takes away all the responsibility from the Federation and stresses that Scheuermann’s disease has nothing to do with the efforts of the gymnast. So the girl complains that she can't train in June and nobody tells her, in those three months, that she should stop or not force herself, because who knows what could happen? "We haven't noticed any accusations towards the trainers that they made her a World Champion, a European Champion.... and no accusations towards the fact that she gets life annuity...." This sentence from the press release from the Federation is just embarrassing, disqualifying and completely without humanity. It's a cruel cynicism to address such an ironic question publicly, to talk about the destiny of a girl who has had a pin put in her back and was operated on three times so she wouldn't remain paralyzed. Even if gymnastics wasn't to blame for Alexandra's tragedy, how can you answer her in such a way? So, more directly said, "you whine because they took you out of the competition, they took away your chances to become famous and rich, they forced you to climb onto the beam with 5 sedatives in you, but you don't complain that they made you a champion and that you get, because of these results, some 200 to 300 dollars per month?" I read the press release on the phone to the former gymnast, who had to retire from the Sports University, not because of gymnastics, but because of this disease that fell out of the sky, and she only had the strength to answer the question with a question too, addressed to the highest people in the Federation: "Ladies and Gentlemen, you are angry that I am telling about my grievance too, but why aren't you complaining that you have Mercedes' and bank accounts loaded with thousands of dollars?" d. Original publication date: April 15, 2002 in ‘Prosport’. Prosport has discovered that Alexandra Marinescu's age has been falsified too, the former gymnast was made a year older. Junior European Champion in 1994, when she really only was 12 years old, Alexandra's career ended sadly in 1997 and she needed 3 operations on her spine. According to the birth certificate, Alexandra was born on the 19th of March 1982. In her passport, the date was adjusted with exactly one year: to the 19th of March 1981. Last week, Prosport revealed that the Romanian Gymnastics Federation falsified Gina Gogean's age so that the gymnast could take part in the senior competitions in 1992: Europeans, Worlds and Olympics. The second case of fraud is that of Alexandra Marinescu, another victim of the same practice. She too was made one year older. The stories of both gymnasts coincide up until a certain point. Gina had a fulfilling career, loaded with numerous titles and medals in all the important competitions, while Alexandra's life was a real drama. Above all, the effects of the hard training, starting at a too fragile age, left their marks in a painful way. She retired from gymnastics in 1997, at just 15 years old, when some of her colleagues had just entered in to the whirlpool of the big competitions. At the age of 11, Marinescu was very promising. In 1993, it was suggested to the gymnast from the club Triumf, and to her father, to change her age. The role of negotiator was trainer Eliza Stoica, the wife of general secretary of the Federation, Adrian Stoica. The girl accepted, not realizing what it would imply. At the time a false passport was made for her, the man who had been seen in the corridors of the Passport Service was Adrian Stoica. Therefore, that's how Alexandra became the individual Junior European Champion and winning the title on beam and bronze on floor, at the age of 12 in 1994, but passing for a 13 year old. The next year she was selected for the senior team and competed at Worlds in Sabae. She became the World Champion with the team and qualified for two apparatus finals. In 1996, she competed in the juniors, winning the Junior European Championship for the second time but she competed in the seniors too. At the apparatus World Championships in San Juan where she won silver on beam. At the Olympics in Atlanta, she finished third with the team. Her last big competition was the Worlds in Lausanne in 1997. She already had problems with her back, the consequences of hard training since a young age. She had another gold medal won with the team hung around her neck and then it all stopped. After that, her life can only be called one thing: torture. In the course of 3 years, she has had 3 operations on her spine, the last in 2000. She was almost paralyzed. Her stay in hospital and terrible back pains forced her to put of her study. At the moment, she's attending high school in Deva but she never visits the gym where she has spent years trying to demonstrate that she could beat her age. Alexandra Marinescu avoided any kind of comment about Prosport's disclosure. It seems that her reservation has to do with the fact that a book about her life will be published in America soon. There, she will disclose some shocking confessions about her 9 years in gymnastics. The penalty for falsifying official documents is 3 months to 3 years imprisonment. (Source: Evenimentul Zilei) e. The following article is a brief synopsis of a Romanian TV show, ‘Pro TV’, dealing with Alexandra Marinescu that aired April 15, 2002. Alexandra Marinescu appeared on Romanian television on Monday evening admitting that she was asked to say that she was born a year earlier. She said that since she retired, she is scared to leave the country, afraid that the authorities might catch her because of her false passport. She also said that the training is too hard because the gymnasts are too young for this kind of training. They also showed her back and it looks horrible. They mentioned that the Prosecutor's Office can't do anything about the falsification of the gymnast's ages because nobody has filed a complaint. Vieru said that he won't file a complaint! When Marinescu's age was falsified, a committee of 20 people, including some of the people who are now in the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and that the idea of changing her age, came from one coach when Marinescu was still a junior, approved it. f. The following are excerpts taken from a Romanian publication called ‘Unica’, appearing in June 2002. Alexandra Marinescu was featured in the Romanian magazine Unica. She talked about the scandals and said: "My declarations have stirred up a whirlwind in the gymnastics world but the truth has to come out. If it wasn't me, somebody else would have come out to talk about the disorders that happen in women's gymnastics." About the hard training that she had gone through as a gymnast she said: "When I retired from gymnastics, it would have been a hobby for me to join the army, it would have been like a holiday." Many people are anxiously awaiting the appearance of her book. Alexandra: "My book will come out in America first because there is a real interest to read about the life of a gymnast. It will also appear in Italy, France and Japan. If people are interested, the book will also come out in Romania. It's about my life as a gymnast but mostly about the period after that, about the operations and all the changes in my life." g. Original article appeared in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’, July 17, 2002. Story by Andrei Nourescu and Razvan Ionascu Fraud. Lies. Pure violence. Abuse. Starvation. These are just a few of the words from the 'secrets' that reveal another face of Romanian gymnastics. A hard and ugly picture that was hidden deeply, like that of a demon. For the first time however, a gymnast has taken her heart in her hand and decided to talk, to tell the truth from beginning to end! Alexandra Marinescu has transposed her story into a stirring book 'Alexandra's Secrets' written by Andrei Nourescu, that will be published in America soon. Alexandra Marinescu is the first athlete in Romania who had the courage and strength to unmask the political fraud of the gymnastics leaders who changed the age of the gymnasts. She was the first to come out in the then already famous case of the 'passport falsification'. That was only the beginning. Having a very strong personality and a down to earth character, Alexandra Marinescu decided to continue the series of revelations to the end and put everything in a biography that the world will get to read soon. A book in which she tells about being slapped and even locked up in coach Octavian Belu's room for three days, but also about the torture that she was subjected to when she had to lose weight before major competitions. Conscious about the risks involved, the former World Champion and Olympic medallist says that she has peace within herself and that her story is one hundred percent true. "I knew straight from the beginning to what I would expose myself, to the threats and attacks. Even though I have admitted competing under false papers, I have risked the fact that the FIG could have taken back my medals." Alexandra reveals the true face of Romanian gymnastics and shed light on a series of dramatic events and abuse that demonstrates that this sport was protected for a long time and that behind the major success, an ugly part is hidden but none of the former gymnasts had the courage to bring it out. Shocking confessions from a gymnast: ”Whenever I made a mistake in my routine, the repetitions alternated with slapping and pushing around, I left the training dizzy and full of bruises." "As a punishment because I went over the ideal weight set by the trainers, Octavian Belu locked me up in his room for three days without getting anything to eat. I only got an orange, that I squeezed out so I could drink the juice because I was dying from thirst. I didn't even get water to drink. I was on the verge of fainting when trainer Benone Pereteanu saved me." "To be able to maintain our weight, we had to throw up immediately after we ate, and the trainers would make us wear four or five training-suits and made us run in the middle of the night. It was hell, I don't know how our bodies coped with it." "Adrian Stoica was against me having an operation in America. At the end of 1997, I was at an awards ceremony and I had already announced that I would retire from the sport because of my injuries. I happened to overhear a discussion between Nadia Comaneci and Adrian Stoica. 'We could take Alex with us to America for an operation on her back. The doctors there could heal her and we will pay for all the costs,' Nadia had said. Stoica's answer was unbelievable: 'No Nadia, what use does that do? She will retire from gymnastics anyway...." That's when I felt betrayed by gymnastics, that all my sacrifices didn't mean anything to some people." "They who accuse me are being ridiculous" Q: Alexandra, you have stirred up things... A: I heard, but that's not my fault. Those who accuse me are being ridiculous because I'm not after revenge or to destroy anybody... Q: But why? A: I will never deny the beautiful moments of my career, the victories and moments of glory, but this isn't the entire picture. I want the truth to come out, so that we won't live in a lie, hiding the ugly parts. It's the same as in life, nothing is perfect and as long as it's true, I don't see why I can't talk about what I have been through. Q: They say that you are doing it for the money... A: Really? I want to tell you that I have decided not to ask for a penny for the publication rights. I will give it to some publishing houses in America for free, because the circulation is impressive. So, I won't be selling my story while at the same time, on the other hand, I risk losing my income, the life annuity. Q: But are you somehow exploiting the image of your teammates? A: No way. I'll tell you something else now. A big publishing house in Japan has read the book and said that if I would tell what had happened to all my teammates, they would offer me a bonus of 100.000 dollars. Obviously I refused, because I don't want to speculate about the tragedies of others. Q: Will we be able to read the book in Romania? A: Surely, after it's publication in the West, it will be publicized in Romania too, so that everyone can find out the truth. Octavian Belu: "This girl is being manipulated" "I don't care what has been written in this book. The opinions of those who gave their point of view after a review was published on a site, are coming from a bunch of anonymous people. Right now, everybody is free to write what he wants, even in a book. I don't feel, and I won't feel harmed by this problem. I consider that these are just frustrations that came out after years and years. Alexandra Marinescu didn't solely train in a gym with Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang. There were other trainers present and her teammates too; they can give evidence about what has happened during the training. I think that this child is being manipulated, and the effect of this book, but also the negative articles that have been published about Romanian gymnastics, will show over time. Never have my training methods consisted of hitting." Mariana Bitang: "She is probably mixing me up with somebody else" "I don't know what the book contains. I heard that all kinds of negative comments were addressed at us. I have never persecuted Alexandra by locking her up in a certain room to punish her. She is probably mixing me up with somebody else. Why didn't she reveal her serious accusations back then, immediately after she retired? She can say that we tortured her on the stake. That's her problem. I personally regret it very much what happened to her because of her health, but that isn't the coaches' fault. We have only and always worked on the basis of the medical approval. If I'm such a witch, as I heard that I have been described by different people, why did Mrs. Marinescu, whenever she came to Deva for a visit after Alexandra retired from competitive gymnastics, never forgot to buy me a bouquet of flowers?" h. This article was originally published in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’, July 18, 2002. Some strong reactions are being provoked by Alexandra's book now and the first to react is Corina Ungureanu. Not so long ago, Corina herself was involved in a huge scandal because she posed for 'Playboy' but her reaction toward Alexandra is hard. "I'm telling you that when I'll catch her, I'll hit her! She dared to talk about me in her book without asking my permission." Corina is planning to organize a meeting in Deva next week with all Alexandra's former teammates among whom Gina Gogean, Claudia Presecan, Simona Amanar, and Lavinia Milosovici to come out with some sensational revelations about Alexandra's life in and outside of the gym. It seems that Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang have suggested this meeting so that the former gymnasts can set up a protest plan. In Deva, Alexandra Marinescu has said to be disappointed in the campaign that has been started against her. "I really don't understand it. I haven't talked about anything else than my life and about the tragedy that I have gone through. I haven't said anything about my former teammates, especially because I wanted to avoid their implication. That's why I don't understand all this attention from so many people who have nothing to do with the story or my approach. If the truth upsets them or if they feel guilty somehow because they are hiding the truth, then that's their business," specified Alexandra. Besides the accusations directed at the coaches of the national team, Alexandra Marinescu has also referred to the General Secretary of the Federation, Adrian Stoica, who she accused of telling Nadia Comaneci that there's no use of her going to America to get treatment for her back. Stoica granted Gazeta Sporturilor an interview in which he explains things. Q: Mr. Stoica, could you comment on Alexandra's accusations that resulted from the fact that you were against her going to America to get treatment after Nadia told you she would help her? A: I can only tell you one thing. Ask Nadia. If she tells you that the things stand the way that Alexandra says, then I don't have any further comment. I have done everything for this girl to give her all the support she needed. You can see that the Romanian saying about handing out a helping hand is true; you get repaid by a kick in the behind. Q: What is your opinion about Alexandra's statements regarding the training regime in Deva? A: This girl is being manipulated for sure. She has someone else's financial interest behind her, who is trying to sell the book through this campaign. But nothing surprises me anymore these days. Everything is possible here. Q: After her statements about you, are you going to take legal actions? A: I would never do something like this to her. I repeat, Alexandra is nothing but a pawn in this entire story. But if, after I will have read the book, I will find comments that are strictly referring towards me that don't belong to Alexandra, things could change radically. Q: After excerpts of the book appeared on the German site Gymworld, it has provoked strong reactions. What is your opinion about this? A: The publication of the book won't effect certain people, as one might think. You will see the effects in time and the structure of Romanian gymnastics will be the first to suffer. |