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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Ungureanu in the 1970s | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Teodora Ungureanu | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Romania | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 November 1960 Reșița, People's Republic of Romania[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 150 cm (4 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior International | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 1971–79 (ROM) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gym | National Training Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Béla Károlyi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach(es) | Márta Károlyi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach(es) | Andrei Karekes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gymnastics career edit
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 edit
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 edit
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
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| Junior | |||||||
| 1971 | Romanian Championships (Category III) |  |
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| 1972 | Championships of the Republic for Juniors (Category II) | |
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| Cup of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation (Category II) | |
5 | |||||
| 1973 | ITA-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba) |  |
8 | 4 |  |
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| Romanian Junior Championships (Category I) | |
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| Schools Championships (Category I) | |
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| Senior | |||||||
| 1974 | Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba) | |
4 | |
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| Romanian Junior Championships (Category I) | |
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| 1975 | Balkan Championships | |
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| Championships of the Republic | |
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| FRG-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| Japan Junior Invitational | |
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| Pre-Olympics | |
5 | 4 | |
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| Romanian Championships | |
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| ROM-CAN Dual Meet | |
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| ROM-ITA Dual Meet | |
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| London World Cup Final | 6 | 4 | 6 |
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| 1976 | Calgary International | |
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| CAN-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| Champions All | |
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| Chunichi Cup | |
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| FRA-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| FRG-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| GBR-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| NED-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| Milan Grand Prix | |
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| Milk Meet | |
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| USA-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| Romanian Championships | |
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| Montreal Olympic Games | |
4 | |
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| 1977 | Champions All | |
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| ESP-ROM Dual Meet (Barcelona) | |
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| ESP-ROM Dual Meet (Madrid) | |
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| Prague European Championships | 4 | 8 | 7 | ||||
| FRA-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| International Championships of Romania | |
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| Orleans International | |
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| ROM-CAN Dual Meet | |
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| 1978 | Balkan Championships | |
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| Coca-Cola International | |
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| FRG-ROM Dual Meet | |
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| Romanian Championships | |
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| ROM-GBR Dual Meet | |
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| Strasbourg World Championships | |
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| 1979 | Coupe de Geneve | 6 | |||||
| Hungarian International | |
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| Romanian Championships | |
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| Mexico City Summer Universiade | |
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References edit
- ^ a b c d Teodora Ungureanu. sports-reference.com
- ^ a b c d e Teodora Ungureanu. Romanian Olympic Committee
- ^ "Teodora Ungureanu". ighof.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Teodora Ungureanu (ROM)". Gymn Forum. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
External links edit
- Teodora Ungureanu at the International Gymnastics Federation
- Teodora Ungureanu at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
- Teodora Ungureanu at Olympics.com
- Teodora Ungureanu at Olympedia
- Bio at romanian-gymnastics.com
- List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
- Whatever Happened to Teodora Ungureanu?
- Profile at GymnasticaBio.com
- Dynamic Gymnastics Homepage
