Monica Roșu

Monica Roşu
— Gymnast —
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1987-05-11) May 11, 1987 Bacău, Romania
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international elite
Head coach(es)	Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang
Retired	2005
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Team Gold 2004 Athens Vault World Championships Silver 2003 Anaheim Team European Championships Gold 2004 Amsterdam Team Gold 2004 Amsterdam Vault

Monica Roşu (born May 11, 1987 in Bacău) is a former artistic gymnast from Romania.^[1] During her career she won two Olympic gold medals (team and vault), a silver medal with the team at world championships and two gold continental medals (team and vault).

Early life and career

Roşu started gymnastics in 1991 at age four and trained during her early years at CSS Bacău. She was selected to train for the junior national team and left her family for Oneşti, then the site of the junior training center. Roşu competed at the Top Gym Tournament in early 2000.^[2] When two juniors from Deva pulled out unexpectedly just days before the meet began, Roşu was selected as a last-minute replacement. Competing with an ankle injury, she finished 12th all-around.^[2] Roşu competed internationally in the Netherlands and Slovakia in 2001. Always a powerful tumbler, she made great strides in vaulting and floor exercise and soon moved with her teammates to the national training center in Deva. Still a junior in 2002, she competed at the Romanian International, placing fourth. She went on to be a part of the junior squad at the European Championships, where she earned bronze medals on vault and floor exercise.^[3] At her second and last participation at the Top Gym Tournament, she won the trophy ahead of teammate Alexandra Eremia.^[2]

Senior career

Roşu competed at her first world championships in the U.S. in 2003, winning silver with her team and placing fourth on the vault.^[4] She then won gold on vault and with the team at the European Championships the following spring.^[5] Roşu's finest hour came during the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With Cătălina Ponor, Daniela Sofronie, Oana Ban, Alexandra Eremia and Silvia Stroescu she was a part of the Romanian team who successfully defended their Olympic team title. In a dominant performance they won by nearly a full point and finished top on three of the four apparatus. The strongest vaulter on the team, she contributed scores in the finals of 9.625 on vault and 9.387 on bars. Roşu also won gold on the vault, competing the two most difficult vaults of the Olympic Games. She scored 9.575 (S.V: 9.9) and 9.737 (S.V: 10.0). She was nearly two tenths ahead of her nearest rival, Annia Hatch.

Retirement

After injuring herself in 2005, and showing sub-par performances, Roşu failed to make the 2005 World Championship team and has since retired. In 2005 she participated at the televised competition Kunoichi and in the TV show Monster Box in Japan.^[6] In 2009 she was the host of a TV show ("Forma Maxima") aimed at promoting a healthy life style, broadcast by the Romanian TVR1 channel. Among her guest were Ion Ţiriac, Ilie Năstase and Gheorghe Hagi.^[7] As of 2010, Roşu was studying for her masters of sport management in Bucharest, Romania.

Achievements

• 2000 Top Gym Tournament: 6th Team, 12th A-A, 6th BB 12th FX, 6 V
• 2001 Tournament of Arques: 3rd A-A
• 2001 Slovakian International: 4th A-A, 6th BB, 7th UB, 7th FX
• 2001 Hypotheek Tournament: 2nd A-A

She won a silver medal on vault at the 2004 World Cup Final.

References

External links

• Photos of Monica Roşu at Gymbox.net
• Monica Roşu at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique

v t e Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Team All-Around     1928 Netherlands 1936 Germany 1948 Czechoslovakia 1952 Soviet Union 1956 Soviet Union 1960 Soviet Union 1964 Soviet Union 1968 Soviet Union 1972 Soviet Union 1976 Soviet Union 1980 Soviet Union 1984 Romania 1988 Soviet Union 1992 Unified Team 1996 United States 2000 Romania 2004 Romania 2008 China 2012 United States 2004:  Romania (ROU), Oana Ban, Alexandra Eremia, Cătălina Ponor, Monica Roşu, Nicoleta Daniela Şofronie, Silvia Stroescu