Teodora Ungureanu (born 13 November 1960) is a Romanian former gymnast who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She is a three-time Olympic medalist (two silver and one bronze) and a world championships silver medalist. After retiring from gymnastics she has enjoyed a successful career as a gymnastics coach.Teodora Ungureanu . Romanian Olympic Committee
Gymnastics career Ungureanu began gymnastics at the age of nine. She trained in Bucharest until she was 12, when she joined the gymnastics school run by Béla Károlyi and his wife, Márta.
At her first Romanian National Championships, in 1971, she placed first in the all-around in the children's division. While Ungureanu was a skilled athlete, medalling at various World Cup and international events, she was frequently overshadowed by her more celebrated teammate and friend, Nadia Comăneci (who was born the day before Ungureanu's first birthday). She placed second to Comăneci at various events, including the Romanian Nationals. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, Ungureanu barely missed an all-around bronze, finishing fourth. She did win two individual medals in the event finals, a bronze on the balance beam and a silver on the uneven bars, and shared in the team's silver medal. Ungureanu's final meet was the 1979 World University Games, where she finished first in the all-around.
Post-retirement Following her retirement, she married Romanian Olympic gymnast Sorin Cepoi and began working with the Troup Cornea travelling circus. She and her husband eventually moved to France, where they coached for eight years before going to the United States in 1993. In 2001, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame."Teodora Ungureanu". ighof.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013. Currently, Ungureanu and her husband own Dynamic Gymnastics club in Westchester, New York. Ungureanu coached four-year national team member and 2011 world champion Sabrina Vega until 2012 at Dynamic Gymnastics. Ungureanu is also rated as an International Gymnastics Official and serves as a judge at various competitions.
Competitive history YearEventTeamAAVTUBBBFX Junior 1971 Romanian Junior Championships 1972 Championships of the Republic Romanian Cup 5 1973 ITA-ROM Dual Meet Junior Friendship Tournament 8 4 Romanian Junior Championships Schools Championships Senior 1974 Junior Friendship Tournament 4 Romanian Junior Championships 1975 Balkan Championships Championships of the Republic FRG-ROM Dual Meet Japan Junior Invitational Pre-Olympics 5 4 Romanian Championships ROM-CAN Dual Meet ROM-ITA Dual Meet World Cup Final 64 6 1976 Calgary International CAN-ROM Dual Meet Champions All Chunichi Cup FRA-ROM Dual Meet FRG-ROM Dual Meet GBR-ROM Dual Meet NED-ROM Dual Meet Milan Grand Prix Milk Meet USA-ROM Dual Meet Romanian Championships Olympic Games 4 1977 Champions All ESP-ROM Dual Meet (Barcelona) ESP-ROM Dual Meet (Madrid) European Championships 48 7 FRA-ROM Dual Meet International Championships of Romania Orleans International ROM-CAN Dual Meet 1978 Balkan Championships Coca-Cola International FRG-ROM Dual Meet Romanian Championships ROM-GBR Dual Meet World Championships 1979 Coupe de Geneve 6 Hungarian International Romanian Championships Summer Universiade
References
External links
Bio at romanian-gymnastics.com List of competitive results at Gymn Forum Whatever Happened to Teodora Ungureanu? Profile at GymnasticaBio.com Dynamic Gymnastics Homepage