Teodora Ungureanu

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.[2]

Teodora Ungureanu
Ungureanu in the 1970s
Personal information
Full nameTeodora Ungureanu
Country represented Romania
Born (1960-11-13) 13 November 1960
Reșița, People's Republic of Romania[1]
Height150 cm (4 ft 11 in)[1]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
Years on national team1971–79 (ROM)
GymNational Training Centre
Head coach(es)Béla Károlyi
Assistant coach(es)Márta Károlyi
Former coach(es)Andrei Karekes
Retired1979
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place1976 MontrealTeam
Silver medal – second place1976 MontrealUneven bars
Bronze medal – third place1976 MontrealBalance beam
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1978 StrasbourgTeam

Gymnastics career

Ungureanu began gymnastics at the age of nine.[2] 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.[1] Ungureanu's final meet was the 1979 World University Games, where she finished first in the all-around.[2]

Post retirement

Following her retirement, she married Romanian Olympic gymnast Sorin Cepoi[1] 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.[2] In 2001, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[3] 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.[2]

Competitive history
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
1971 Romanian Championships (Category III)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
1972 Championships of the Republic for Juniors (Category II)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Cup of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation (Category II)1st place, gold medalist(s)5
1973 ITA-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)
Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)842nd place, silver medalist(s)
Romanian Junior Championships (Category I)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Schools Championships (Category I)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Senior
1974 Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba)1st place, gold medalist(s)42nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Romanian Junior Championships (Category I)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1975 Balkan Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Championships of the Republic2nd place, silver medalist(s)
FRG-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Japan Junior Invitational1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Pre-Olympics3rd place, bronze medalist(s)542nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Romanian Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
ROM-CAN Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
ROM-ITA Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
London World Cup Final6462nd place, silver medalist(s)
1976 Calgary International1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
CAN-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Champions All1st place, gold medalist(s)
Chunichi Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
FRA-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
FRG-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
GBR-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
NED-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Milan Grand Prix1st place, gold medalist(s)
Milk Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)
USA-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Romanian Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Montreal Olympic Games2nd place, silver medalist(s)42nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1977 Champions All1st place, gold medalist(s)
ESP-ROM Dual Meet (Barcelona)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
ESP-ROM Dual Meet (Madrid)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Prague European Championships487
FRA-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
International Championships of Romania2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Orleans International2nd place, silver medalist(s)
ROM-CAN Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1978 Balkan Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Coca-Cola International1st place, gold medalist(s)
FRG-ROM Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Romanian Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
ROM-GBR Dual Meet1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Strasbourg World Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1979 Coupe de Geneve6
Hungarian International2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Romanian Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
Mexico City Summer Universiade1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)

[4]

References
  1. Teodora Ungureanu. sports-reference.com
  2. Teodora Ungureanu. Romanian Olympic Committee
  3. "Teodora Ungureanu". ighof.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  4. "Teodora Ungureanu (ROM)". Gymn Forum. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
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