Mariana Bitang Via Prosport:
“We decided that (it’s best) for Larisa best not to attend the Europeans. First, (she) must recover completely and we must be patient. Obviously, it will change the objective. We are giving the experience to the girls must go through competitions and that are becoming seniors like Iridon and Jurca, it is important for the new additions to go through the emotions of the competitions because you train for nothing in the gym if in the competition you don’t handle the pressure, and this is achieved through experience, through our many meets. The objective is to build a strong team for the Worlds to qualify for the Olympics”
The article mentions that the coaches have decided to pull Larisa from the 2015 European Championships due to an older injury on the left ankle.
Larisa was initially registered to compete both in Cottbus and Doha but withdrew from both competitions. She also missed the Romania vs Israel friendly match at Izvorani, mid-March.
Team mates Andreea Iridon and Andreea Munteanu competed in Cottbus last week-end. Munteanu, who was not on the nominative registrations list for 2015 Euros, won beam and placed 2nd on floor in Germany. Andreea Iridon was overcome by nerves in qualifications and fell both on beam and on bars, not qualifying to the final stage.
Laura Jurca and Diana Bulimar are set to compete at Doha this week.
It sounds that after Munteanu’s good showing in Germany she was selected to replace Larisa Iordache who has not yet completely recovered from her health issues.
Pressing a still mildly injured Larisa to compete while leaving home gymnasts that would benefit much more from the experience would not have been a wise call. So although on a selfish level we are sad, and we know that Euros will be a lesser competition without her, we applaud the decision and can’t wait to see the young Romanians in action in Montpellier.
Article by: Bea Gheorghisor
Photo Cover by Nadia Boyce