| 18. Andreea Raducan, former Romanian National Team Member (1997 - 2002), gymnastics. There are four articles presented in this section. a. Original interview publication date, October 2, 2002 in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’. Andreea Raducan talked to Gazeta about her relationship with Belu and Bitang and about her health problems. Q: Andreea, there has been a lot of talk about your weight gain. How many kilos are you overweight? A: Three more than my usual weight. Q: Is it hard to lose them? A: Theoretically no, however, I have a build that isn't an advantage for me. Q: How's your health? A: I have a lot of pain in my ankle. I went to a doctor in Arad together with Mr. Belu and he put my bones straight. I felt an improvement, but I should have taken a break after this treatment so the effect was short termed. Q: Did the pain in your ankle make you pull out of floor (for Debrecen)? A: To a certain extent, yes. After I discussed it with Mr. Belu, I decided only to compete on beam at the World Championships. Q: Did the coaches ever advise you to retire from gymnastics? A: Nothing of the kind. The only discussion that I had with them was about Nationals and Worlds. Mr. Belu told me that I had to decide. The idea was to not take part at Nationals and to have a good performance in Hungary. Q: Where there moments of tension between you and the two coaches? A: When I was younger, I raised my voice from time to time. My father, however, explained from the start that if I wasn't talented enough, to leave me alone. He didn't want to hear about me getting slapped. My parents have always told me to have respect for everybody. Precisely why, when I grew up, I asked to be respected too. The coaches have never yelled at me or hit me. I explained to them that if something like that would happen, I would pack my bags and leave. Q: Was it more difficult for you in gymnastics when you were 15 or 19? A: I was a child back then. I took everything as it was. Things have changed. Growing up has changed me. Q: Did you decide to retire because of the monotony that exists in this sport? A: I admit that gymnastics is a monotonous sport. Every day you have to train on the same apparatus and have the same good mood. Q: It's the second time that you said you want to retire. Is this decision final? A: Yes, without a doubt. To be honest, this is the third time, not the second. I wanted to retire immediately after Sydney. I was fed up with the entire scandal that was created around me, after they took my all-around medal away from me. Q: Did your presence have a negative influence on the other gymnasts of the team? A: I was in Deva when Gina Gogean and Simona Amanar were the leaders of the team. I never looked at the way they trained. I had my own program. I don't think that the girls can be influenced in a bad or good way, based on my performance. b. Original interview publication date: October 2, 2002 in ‘Prosport’. Q: Andreea, if you could do it all over again... A: I don't think that I would want to be a gymnast again. At least, that's how I feel now, when I'm still doing this sport. Q: Why? A: Because after the Olympics in Sydney, I dreamt twice about how I swallowed the Nurofen. That precise moment. I relived that moment in my sleep. I woke up sweating and crying every time. Q: Is that the only reason? A: Maybe not! I was about to die twice in my career. The first time it happened in Birlad. I landed precisely on my neck after a vault. Everybody had the shock of their life. Then in Onesti. I was doing a routine on floor and the same thing happened. Q: When you have a child, would you enroll it in gymnastics? A: No, I don't think so. Actually, I can say how things were for me. I was young and I didn't know what world I was in. I cried if my father wouldn't take me to the gym one day. But as time went by, I realized the risks I exposed myself to. Q: Do you regret choosing this sport? A: Sometimes yes, but there are moments that I think that I could very well have been an unknown Andreea Raducan from Birlad, who studied at some I-don't-know-which school. Q: Have your coaches ever hit you? A: No. I have never been hit. Mr. Belu and Mrs. Bitang would rather kick me out of the gym when I made a mistake. Coaches feel you. Q: What do you mean they feel you? A: Well, when they came into the gym, they would have a saying: "Will she fly today or won't she fly?" After a couple of minutes, they knew if I was flying, meaning I would have a good training session. I have to admit that I got this far because of them. Q: They are the same ones who accuse you of being overweight and not disciplined. A: The coaches have their opinion and we have ours. I have learnt that in life you need a high level of insensibility. But there are times when you have to decide what to take to heart and what not. In the end, if you're like an elephant, it's normal that you can't get up on the beam. Q: What do you think of life in the training camp? A: Horrible. An immense monotony. But that's how it is if you want to perform. For example, maybe I wanted to go out with friends for my birthday. I couldn't because I had training in the evening. I'm fed up with it all. Q: What will you think when you walk out of the door from the gym in Deva? A: That I'm glad I'm out! That I'm glad that I came out healthy. Q: What do you remember from Sydney? A: Two feelings. One of happiness and the other one of sadness. I was the all-around Olympic champion, but later on, they took away my title. On the other hand, I'm happy that the outside world understood what I was going through. Q: Where were you when you were told? A: In my room. Mr. Belu came in and he whispered to Mrs. Bitang that I had been tested positive in the doping control. He asked me continuously what pills I had taken and I went blank. But the worst moments were those in the arena. It seemed to me that everybody was giving me nasty looks. That wasn't the case. Q: Do you have a grudge against doctor Ioachim Oana? A: No. Not at all. He wanted to help me then. But I don't want to talk about it anymore. Q: How has this year been for you? A: Quite difficult. I kept on thinking about retiring earlier but look, I've got the Worlds coming up soon and I'm still in Deva. Q: How was the competition in China? A: Quite difficult for me. I fell off beam and on floor, but due to a lack of concentration. It happens. You reach an age when these things happen. Q: Are you overweight? A: This question is already becoming an obsession for me. I am probably. Anyhow, it's been extremely difficult for me to maintain my weight. Quote from Andreea Raducan, published October 2, 2002 in ‘Romania Libera’: "I've had enough. In the morning certain people phoned me to tell me that they hadn't said what was printed in the press. Now, during lunch, I hear Mr. Vieru say on the radio that I'm too fat. If they want to say something to me, they have to tell it to me in my face. I will continue to prepare for the World Championships. I've stayed here so I'll keep on going until the end." |
| c. This article originally appeared in ‘Evenimentul Zilei’ on October 3, 2002. Andreea Raducan: "If I don't manage to lose 3 kilos, I won't go to the World Championships. I'm not thinking of compromising myself, most of all now, at the end of my career." Belu and Bitang, who went back to Deva Monday afternoon to prepare the gymnasts that will take part at the World Championships, had a discussion with Andreea yesterday evening. The coaches, supported by the officials of the Federation, are resolute in not letting Andreea take part in the team that will go to Debrecen. From Birlad, Andreea's mother Simina, made an appeal to coaches Belu and Bitang, and to the leaders of the Federation. "I don't want to get involved in this scandal. It's their decision. I just want my daughter to be able to prepare and compete at the World Championships. Please give her clemency," said Simina Raducan. In her turn, Andreea confessed: "My mother is hurting for me. If I'm not well, she's not well either." After yesterday's training, Andreea went to the dentist. "I've been to the dentist. I don't have any problems with my teeth; it's just a check up. Don't think that I have decay from chocolate. I have a well balanced program. I have to respect a certain amount of calories. I'm not allowed to eat much," said the tiny champion yesterday, who says that she put on weight because she's grown lately: "In the last 2 months I have grown. I'm 1.51m and 44 kilograms, 3 more than my normal weight. Even like this I don't look like a 19 year old but more like 15! I have a face of a child...." d. This is an excerpt of an editorial written about Andreea Raducan by Romanian journalist Andrei Nourescu. It was published on October 4, 2002 in ‘Gazeta Sporturilor’. “Gymnastics has assured Andreea of a decent life, she's put all the money that she's earned in gymnastics in the bank and some say that she's got over a 100.000 dollars. So, Andreea should be happy shouldn't she? But what do we discover? "If I could do it all over again, I don't think I would want to be a gymnast again," and "I don't think I would enroll my child in gymnastics," "Life in Deva is horrible, there's an intense monotony, I'm fed up with everything," "Sometimes I regret that I have chosen this sport." And asked by a reporter from Prosport: "What will you think when you walk out of the door of the Deva gym?", the answer is "Glad that I'm out!". If a gymnast like Andreea Raducan has such regrets and she wouldn't want to do it all over again, just imagine what goes on in the soul of other gymnasts. Andreea is probably one of the happy cases, the 1% of gymnasts that succeed. If Andreea Raducan leaves Deva feeling this way, I don't think that you would like to know the opinion of the gymnasts that have been hit, that have broken a bone or two or go home without a penny in their pocket...” |