The Women’s Olympic Team Dissolved

Yesterday was what we might call our last day with gymnastics. This involves the Olympics at least. We don’t have the gymnasts, we don’t have the coaches. The situation is dramatic, taking into account the fact that the World Championship is to start three months from now.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation (RGF) has decided to dissolve the Olympic team and coaches Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang asked for the termination of their contracts. A few days ago, Monica Rosu was forced to give up on the exercises due to medical reasons, and yesterday, the other gymnasts, Catalina Ponor, Floarea Leonida and Daniela Sofronie have been sent to continue the preparation at their clubs. In the same time, Alexandra Eremia had already been disposed, because she was recovering from the appendicitis operation and because of the weight excess.

HISTORY. The situation of the women’s Olympic gymnastics team had started to get tensed at the beginning of this year, when Oana Petrovschi sued the team’s coaches, asking 30,000 euros from them, for being forced to train when her medical condition didn’t allow her that. This lawsuit started another one in which Octavian Belu was accused of having claimed money that weren’t supposed to be his. After that, Belu and Bitang announced they had resigned as the coaches of the Romanian women’s gymnastic team. In time, the lawsuits ended, the federation and the Romanian Olympic and Sportive Committee (ROSC) intervened, so the two valuable coaches signed new contracts on the 7th of April. "The contracts are for four years, but they will be renegotiated every year or every six months if needed", Ioan Dobrescu, the ROSC general secretary, was announcing then. According to some sources, the coaches were about to receive a monthly fee of 5,000 US dollars from the ROSC, and the costs for the gymnasts were to be paid by the federation. It all seemed ideal, but the coaches’ difficulties didn’t stop there. Using the Petrovschi precedent as a pretext, the gymnasts started to spot all kinds of medical problems, even though the doctors allowed them to train, and this scrambled their preparation.

END. The thing that broke the camel’s back was the escapade on Sunday night. Then, Catalina Ponor, Floarea Leonida and Alexandra Eremia partied at the Old Stone Club together with some members of the men’s gymnastics team, Bogdan Orzata, Daniel Popescu and Flavius Coti, who was celebrating his birthday. The girls partied ‘till dawn and they got to Sport Hotel at 4:00 a.m. Daniela Sofronie was the only one that had stayed in the room, refusing to go out. Belu and Bitang announced the Gymnastics Federation and the ROSC. The coaches’ report led to yesterday’s dissolving of the women’s Olympic gymnastics team.

B elu: "We will have another team in 2006"

Coach Octavian Belu (photo) stated yesterday that a new team will appear no sooner than 2006, when the members of the junior team will be old enough. "This situation appeared in time due to not following the normal training sessions. From my point of view, the World Championship won’t bring to many happy moments. A new senior team is possible in 2006, when the juniors will have the needed age". Belu said he had asked for the termination of his contract with the Romanian Olympic and Sportive Committee, because they couldn’t fulfill their obligations. "We asked for the termination of the contracts with FRG and ROSC. We cannot reach the objectives mentioned in the contracts, in the given circumstances. I am not used to walking in the gym instead of working, and I demand a certain amount and intensity of the physical exercises. The name is not enough for a medal. At the European Championships, a Belgian Gymnast obtained a medal in jumping, even though no one predicted that", the coach said. Asked by a journalist, Belu added: "If I asked for the termination of the present contacts, it means I don’t want to get involved any more in the training of these gymnasts". Octavian Belu said there wasn’t any justification for the money he was earning as the coach of the Olympic team.