| 11. An interview with Romanian National Team Coach, Mariana Bitang that appeared in September 3, 2001 in ‘Prosport’. After Alexandra Huci's death, the girls of the Olympic team are complaining frequently about headaches. Mariana Bitang talks about their 'strange' behaviour. Two months before the World Championships in Ghent, Belgium, the national gymnastics team is in a critical situation. For the past two days, trainer Mariana Bitang has received house calls from the doctors of the hospital in Deva and the gymnasts are overweight and are trying to find excuses to avoid having to train. Being trained by Belu and Bitang Romania haven't lost their supremacy since the World Championships in 1994. Q: Mrs. Bitang, what is happening in Deva? A: What is happening? I'm in bed now. The doctor has left a couple of minutes ago. Q: Are you sick? A: Yes! My nerves are overwrought! I'm really tired and stressed out. I'm almost at the end of my strength. For the past two days, I've been getting intravenous injections with piracetam, magnesium, calcium and other drugs. Now, I have to have the medicine straight into my bloodstream because the regular injections don't have any effect. The doctor said I had to get out of here [Deva] as quickly as possible. Q: Why are you so upset? A: Because it's only a short period of time until the World Championships and these girls don't know which planet they're on. They went to Bucharest for their medical check-up, they missed two days of training and they return 3 kilos overweight. Q: Can't they be brought back to their ideal weight in time for the World Championships? A: Yes, probably but it requires work. Q: They don't work? A: I think we are dealing with a new phenomenon in gymnastics. When I tell them to work, they refuse. After the death of Alexandra Huci, strange things have been going on. Today, two of the girls have headaches. I tell them to go to their room to rest. The day's lost. On the second day, the same thing happens. I send them to their room. The third day they seem to have a stomachache. I can't do anything about it and I just leave them. If this goes on, in a week we'll waste 5 days and only work 2. Q: Maybe they are sick? A: Look, you can't tell a gymnast she's fat anymore because she'll start to cry immediately. However, the risk of getting injured is greater when they are overweight. It puts more strain on their backs. Thousands of girls have made these sacrifices up until now but they think they only have rights. Now they are billionaires and they have cars. It's not right. A lot of money is invested in them. Q: They are still children. A: Billionaire children. I've given up a lot of years of my life to coach. I stayed with them; I treated them like my own children. This can't go on. Q: What about the World Championships? A: I'll wait until Octavian Belu returns. He's in Australia now with Cojocar and Ulmeanu. We'll see which measures we'll take. If they don't wake up soon, it could be serious. They think that just by putting on the Romanian leotard makes them World Champions. |