Alexandra Marinescu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Women's Artistic Gymnastics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1996 Atlanta | Team competition | |
Alexandra Marinescu is a Romanian Olympic gymnast, currently a trance DJ based in Bucharest.
Marinescu was born on March 19, 1982. During her career as a competitive gymnast, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation gave her birth year as 1981; it was falsified to make her age-eligible for the 1995 Worlds/1996 Olympics.
Unlike many of her Romanian teammates, Marinescu spent the bulk of her career training at her home club, Triumf in Bucharest. She only transferred to the national training center in Deva in 1996. As a result, Marinescu's gymnastics style stood out. She had long lines, elegant presentation and a sense of artistry that was missing from most routines crafted at Deva, but showed less difficulty in her tumbling and vaulting than Deva trained athletes such as Lavinia Miloşovici and Gina Gogean.
At the age of twelve, Marinescu was the European Junior Champion; the following year, she won the pre-Olympic test event in Atlanta. In 1996 she was the silver medallist on the balance beam at the World Championships. Leading into the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Marinescu was touted as one of Romania's best chances for an individual medal.
The Olympics proved to be a difficult competition for Marinescu. She contributed to the team bronze medal and qualified for the all-around final. However, coach Octavian Belu pulled her from the all-around and replaced her with teammate Simona Amânar. Belu's official reason, as given to the media, was that Marinescu did not "work hard enough." Marinescu's only chance to shine at the Olympics came in the balance beam event final. She was the first competitor in the final and suffered two falls, finishing with a score below 9.0.
Marinescu continued training in 1997, representing Romania at such competitions as the American Cup. At the World Championships in Lausanne she shared in the team gold medal, however, once again, she was pulled from the all-around finals in favor of Amânar.
Marinescu retired from gymnastics in early 1998, citing serious back problems. She has remained a public figure in Romanian gymnastics due to her outspoken criticism of the Deva coaches and training system. A book about her experience entitled Alexandra's Secrets, in which she detailed abuse at the hands of Deva trainers, was published in the late 1990s.The English version was released in US during January 2006.
[edit] Major Results
1997 World Championships: 1st team
1997 American Cup: 5th AA
1996 Olympics: 3rd team; 8th BB
1996 World Championships: 2nd BB
1996 European Championships: 1st AA (junior)
1995 World Championships: 1st team; 4th BB; 4th UB
1995 Olympic Test Event: 1st AA
1994 European Championships: 1st AA; 1st BB; 3rd FX; 6th VT (junior)
1994 Balkan Championships: 1st UB
1993 Balkan Championships: 1st FX; 1st BB; 2nd AA (junior)
[edit] External links and Sources
- Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Alexandra Marinescu
- World Gym Rank report on Romanian gymnastics
- Marinescu's Secrets: Story at Gymworld
- Full list of competitive results
1934:  Czechoslovakia • 1938: Czechoslovakia • 1950:  Sweden • 1954:  USSR • 1958: USSR • 1962: USSR • 1966: Czechoslovakia • 1970: USSR • 1974: USSR • 1978: USSR • 1979: Romania • 1981: USSR • 1983: USSR • 1985: USSR • 1987:  Romania • 1989: USSR • 1991: USSR • 1992: Not held • 1994:  Romania • 1995: Romania • 1996: Not held • 1997: Romania • 1999: Romania • 2001: Romania • 2002: Not held • 2003:  USA • 2005: Not held • 2006:  China |
