Andreea Răducan

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Olympic medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Gold	2000 Sydney	Team competition
Silver	2000 Sydney	Vault

Andreea Mădălina Răducan (born September 30, 1983) is a gymnast from Bârlad, Romania. She competed in artistic gymnastics at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning gold in the team event and silver on the vault.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Scandal at the Sydney Olympics 3 Post-Sydney 4 Skills 5 Major Results 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early career

Andreea Răducan was one of the "new generation gymnasts" groomed to take over the torch of Romanian gymnastics excellence after the retirements of Olympic medalists Lavinia Miloşovici and Gina Gogean. She began gymnastics at the age of four and a half in her hometown of Birlad. In 1996, after winning over twenty medals in local and regional competitions, she was invited to train at the Romanian junior team facility in Oneşti. Two years later, she was promoted to the national training center in Deva.

Răducan made her international debut at the 1998 Junior European Championships, taking fourth place in the all-around. The next year, she rose to the senior ranks and made an impact at the World Championships in Tianjin, China, winning the FX final and placing fifth in the all-around.

While Răducan's work on the uneven bars was considered weak, her skills on beam, vault and floor exercise were applauded. She was also admired because, unlike other members of the Romanian team, she showed a great deal of expression in her choreography and a wide variety of complex skills in her routines. At the 1999 World Championships, commentator Bart Conner noted, "it is so refreshing to see a Romanian (gymnast) who can dance!"

[edit] Scandal at the Sydney Olympics

Răducan competed well at the Sydney Olympics, helping the Romanian women to win their first Olympic team gold medal since 1984. She qualified for the floor and vault event finals, and, along with teammates Simona Amânar and Maria Olaru, the all-around finals.

The all-around, unfortunately, was mired in controversy. The vault was accidentally set several centimeters too low. This was an extremely dangerous situation, as it completely altered the gymnasts' pre and post flights. As a result of the incorrectly set vault, many gymnasts suffered serious crashes and injuries during both the warmups and the competition. British gymnast Annika Reeder was hurt badly enough to withdraw from the remainder of the meet. Even those who escaped injury found themselves shaken by their experiences on the vault. When the error was discovered by Australian gymnast Allana Slater in the third rotation, International Federation of Gymnastics officials reset the vault height and allowed the competition to continue. They did permit the gymnasts who had vaulted in the first two rotations to take another turn on vault and be rescored; not every athlete accepted this offer.

While Răducan was one of the gymnasts who had vaulted on the incorrectly set apparatus, she continued through the competition, turning in outstanding performances on beam and floor. At the end of the meet, she found herself the all-around champion. Also on the podium with her were her Romanian teammates; Amânar with silver and Olaru with bronze.

However, after the meet, the IOC announced that Răducan had tested positive for pseudophedrine, at the time, a banned substance. In spite of strenuous appeals from Răducan, her coaches, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and certain members of the gymastics community, she was stripped of her gold medal. The gold was re-awarded to Amânar, Olaru was promoted to silver, and former fourth-place finisher Liu Xuan from China was given the bronze medal. Răducan's test samples from the team and vault event finals were clean; she was therefore allowed to keep the medals she won in these competitions. Amânar had also tested positive for Nurofen, but as she was taller and heavier than Răducan, the substance did not register as being over the allowed amount as it had with her younger teammate.

Răducan and her coaches maintained that she was innocent, and, that as a minor, she had only followed the treatment plan the team physician had recommended. The night before the team competition, she had been given Nurofen, a common over-the-counter medication, to help treat a fever and cough. The Romanian team doctor who gave her the drug in two cold medicine pills was expelled from the Games and suspended through the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Both Amânar and Olaru expressed their belief that Răducan was the deserving all-around gold medalist. Following the announcement that Răducan would be stripped of her medal, they initially decided to refuse their new medals; however, they changed their minds in order to bring the medals back to Romania. Amânar said of the gold medal, "I didn't win it. It was won by Andreea and belongs to Andreea." She did in fact return the medal to Răducan back in Romania.

Răducan's case was brought before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the fall of 2000. While the arbitration panel did concede that Răducan had not gained any advantage by taking the pseduophedrine, they upheld the IOC's decision.^{[1] [2]}

[edit] Post-Sydney

Despite the controversy, Răducan was still seen as a positive and even sympathetic figure. She received a significant amount of support in Romania, and members of the gymnastics community, including Nadia Comaneci, publicly expressed their support. Răducan was given a replacement medal in pure gold by a Romanian jeweler; she also received several endorsements and sponsorships. At one point, a Răducan doll was even rumored to be in the works.

Răducan continued to train in Deva after the Olympics. With the retirement of her Sydney teammates Amanar, Olaru, and Claudia Presacan, she found herself as one of the senior gymnasts at Deva. At the 2001 World Championships in Ghent, Belgium, she was part of the gold-medal winning Romanian team; she picked up a bronze in the all-around and golds on floor and beam. Injuries and other concerns marred her training in 2002; after a poor showing at the Worlds in Hungary, she quietly retired. ^[3]

Currently, Răducan is a sports announcer in Romania. She covered the 2004 Olympics in Athens. She also has her own Television Show and does various modeling and promotional work. She is one of Romania's biggest and most adored celebrities.

[edit] Skills

• Vault: Round-off 1/2 twist on, layout cuervo off.
• Balance Beam: Full twisting back, Double Pike back dismount, Tucked Korbut
• Floor Exercise: Round-off-back-handspring-double layout, Round-off-whip back-double pike, Round-off-back-handspring-2.5twist-punch-layout-front, Round-off-flick-triple-twist. Her music for floor routines was:
  • 2000: "Reel Around The Sun" from album Riverdance by Bill Whelan
  • 2001: "Eclipse" from album Nouvelle Experience by Cirque Du Soleil

[edit] Major Results

1998

Junior European Championships: 4th AA; 2nd BB; 3rd FX
Romanian Championships: 3rd AA

1999

World Championships: 1st team; 1st FX; 2nd BB; 5th AA
Romanian Championships: 2nd AA

2000

Olympic Games: 1st team; 1st AA (disqualified); 2nd VT; 7th FX
European Championships: 3rd team; 2nd FX; 5th beam; 6th AA

2001

World Championships: 1st team; 3rd AA; 1st FX; 1st BB; 3rd VT
Romanian Championships: 3rd AA

2002

World Championships: BB-10th (semi-finals)

[edit] References

1. ↑  Text of CAS Decision on Răducan. Retrieved on March 26, 2006.
2. ↑  Arbitrators uphold decision to strip Răducan of gold. Retrieved on March 26, 2006.
3. ↑  Amânar retires as Răducan feted. Retrieved on March 26, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Andreea Răducan