Wikipedia

Simona Amânar

Simona Amânar (Romanian pronunciation: [siˈmona amɨˈnar]; born 7 October 1979) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast. She is the 2000 Olympic all-around champion, and a seven-time Olympic and ten-time World Championship medalist. Amânar helped Romania win four consecutive world team titles (1994–1999), as well as the 2000 Olympic team title.[1] She has a vault named after her, one of the most difficult in women's gymnastics, and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2007.[2]

Simona Amânar
Full nameSimona Amânar
NicknameSimi
Born (1979-10-07) 7 October 1979 (age 46)
Constanța, Romania
Height158 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country
represented
 Romania
(1994–2000 (ROM))
GymDeva National Training Center
Head coach
Octavian Bellu
Assistant coach
Mariana Bitang
Eponymous skillsAmanar (vault)
Retired2000
Medal record
Representing  Romania
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1996 AtlantaVault
Gold medal – first place2000 SydneyTeam
Gold medal – first place2000 SydneyAll-Around
Silver medal – second place1996 AtlantaFloor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place1996 AtlantaTeam
Bronze medal – third place1996 AtlantaAll-Around
Bronze medal – third place2000 SydneyFloor Exercise
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1994 DortmundTeam
Gold medal – first place1995 SabaeTeam
Gold medal – first place1995 SabaeVault
Gold medal – first place1997 LausanneTeam
Gold medal – first place1997 LausanneVault
Gold medal – first place1999 TianjinTeam
Silver medal – second place1996 San JuanVault
Silver medal – second place1997 LausanneAll-Around
Silver medal – second place1999 TianjinVault
Silver medal – second place1999 TianjinFloor Exercise
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place1998 SabaeVault
Gold medal – first place1998 SabaeFloor Exercise
Silver medal – second place2000 GlasgowVault
Silver medal – second place2000 GlasgowBalance Beam
Bronze medal – third place2000 GlasgowFloor Exercise
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place1998 New YorkFloor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place1998 New YorkAll Around
Bronze medal – third place1998 New YorkVault
Bronze medal – third place1998 New YorkUneven Bars
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1994 StockholmTeam
Gold medal – first place1996 BirminghamTeam
Gold medal – first place1996 BirminghamVault
Gold medal – first place1996 BirminghamUneven Bars
Gold medal – first place1998 St. PetersburgTeam
Gold medal – first place2000 ParisVault
Silver medal – second place1998 St. PetersburgAll-Around
Silver medal – second place1998 St. PetersburgVault
Silver medal – second place2000 ParisBalance Beam
Bronze medal – third place1998 St. PetersburgBalance Beam
Bronze medal – third place1998 St. PetersburgFloor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place2000 ParisTeam

Biography

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Simona Amânar is an ethnic Aromanian.[3][4]

Career

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1994–1995

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In 1994, her first year on the senior national team, Amânar contributed to Romania's team titles at the World and European Championships.

Amânar began to excel as an individual performer at the 1995 European Cup, placing second in the all-around behind Svetlana Khorkina of Russia and winning gold on both vault and floor exercise. At the 1995 World Championships, she helped Romania secure its second consecutive world team title and became co-champion on vault (with all-around winner Lilia Podkopayeva of Ukraine). Amânar's powerful floor routine and vaults put her in the lead after two rotations in the all-around, but she dropped to fourth after an average uneven bars routine and a shaky balance beam routine.

1996

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Amânar won a silver medal on vault at the 1996 World Championships, behind teammate Gina Gogean and ahead of Cuba's Annia Portuondo-Hatch.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Amânar was one of the front-runners for several individual medals, but her Olympics started inauspiciously when she fell off the beam during the compulsories. Though she later posted the highest all-around score in the optionals (39.387, her lowest score being a 9.800 on the balance beam), her combined compulsory and optionals scores put her fourth among her teammates, and she did not qualify for the final.[5] However, in a scenario similar to the Unified Team's substitution of Tatiana Gutsu for Rozalia Galiyeva at the 1992 Olympics,[6] Amânar replaced her teammate Alexandra Marinescu in the all-around final.[5] The Romanian head coach, Octavian Bellu, said that Amânar deserved to compete because she had worked harder and was a better athlete than Marinescu. Amânar ended up sharing the bronze medal with teammate Lavinia Miloşovici, behind Gogean.[5]

In both the 1996 Olympic all-around and the 1995 World Championships all-around, Amânar failed to score over 9.800 on the floor exercise despite well-executed and difficult tumbling. In the Olympics, she scored a 9.887 in the team optionals (the highest score of the entire Olympics on any event, for men or women), but only a 9.737 in the all-around. She did not start from a 10.0 in the all-around—despite having the most tumbling bonus points of anyone at the Games—because her tour jeté half-turn (Strug), a C element, was not completed. Thus, she did not have enough simple A, B, and C skills, and much of her D- and E-rated tumbling had to count as easier elements to fulfill those requirements. Amânar did not perform a double turn in the team optionals or the all-around because it was not necessary as long as she completed her Strug. However, when she failed to complete the Strug, four of her six tenths in D and E elements had to count toward requirements, which left her with only .2 counting toward her bonus. Without the error, Amânar would have finished ahead of Gogean and Miloşovici.

In the event finals, Amânar completed her Strug and added a double turn to fulfill the more stringent Competition III requirements. She earned a 9.850 and the silver medal, behind Podkopayeva and just ahead of Dominique Dawes of the United States. She won the vault final the day before, largely because of her 9.875 score for her double-twisting Yurchenko vault.[7] She left the 1996 Olympics with four medals, including Romania's team bronze.[8]

1997–1999

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Romania won its third straight team title at the 1997 World Championships. Amânar again replaced a higher-scoring Marinescu in the all-around competition and won the silver medal behind Russia's Khorkina, followed by a gold medal on vault.

In the 1999 World Championships, Amânar led the Romanian team to a fourth consecutive title (there was no Worlds competition in 1998). However, she fell off the bars during the all-around and placed well out of the medals. She also lost her vaulting title to Russia's Elena Zamolodchikova, who dominated that event in the following years due to a more difficult second vault: a double-twisting Tsukahara. Amânar won her only medal of the competition on the floor, taking home the silver behind teammate Andreea Răducan.

2000

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At the 2000 Summer Olympics, the Romanians edged out the Russians to take the team title—their first since 1984 and their first ever in a non-boycotted Olympics.[9]

In the all-around, the vaulting horse was set too low by the Olympic organizers, and the favorite for the title, Svetlana Khorkina, fell on her signature vault.[10] Several other gymnasts fell or stumbled because of the same problem. Many went on to make mistakes on their next event, knowing their medal chances were gone, only to be informed later of the error and their chance to vault again.[10][11] The three Romanian women either managed to perform well on the faulty vault or vaulted after the mistake had been corrected. They swept the medals, with Răducan winning the gold, Amânar the silver, and Maria Olaru the bronze.[12]

Răducan was subsequently found to have used a cold medicine containing a banned substance. Although her results in other events were allowed to stand, she was stripped of her all-around gold medal, which went to Amânar.[13][14] Initially, Amânar refused to accept the medal, insisting that Răducan had rightfully earned the title. Olaru took the same stance when the silver was awarded to her.[15] However, they eventually reconsidered and decided to bring the medals home to Romania as symbolic victories of the country.[16] Amânar continued to insist, however, that Răducan was the true Olympic all-around champion.[17]

In the event finals, Amânar had the opportunity to defend her Olympic vault title from four years earlier. However, she stumbled badly while debuting a new vault (a 21⁄2 twisting laid-out Yurchenko, which was then named after her), and did not win a medal. She went on to win bronze on floor exercise after losing points for a step out of bounds on her last tumbling pass.

Legacy

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Amânar ranks highly (117th) on the list of most medal gymnasts in the world, with 10 World and 7 Olympic medals.[18] She played a large role in the four consecutive World team titles and Olympic title that established Romania as the top-ranked women's gymnastics team in the world.

The Amanar vault[19] involves a round-off entry onto the vaulting table followed by a laid-out salto with 21⁄2 twists. Amânar first competed this skill at the 2000 Olympics. It has a difficulty score of 6.5, 6.3 and 5.8 in the women's 2009–2012, 2013–2016 and 2017–2020 Code of Points.

Post-retirement

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Amânar retired in 2000, shortly after the Olympic Games. She married Cosmin Tabără, a lawyer, on 9 March 2002, in Timișoara, and gave birth to a son, Alexandru Iosif, five months later.[20] She is the vice president of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation.

Eponymous skill

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Amânar has one eponymous skill in the Code of Points, the Amanar vault.[21]

Apparatus Name Description Difficulty[a]
VaultAmanarRound-off flic-flac on - stretched salto backward with 2½ turn (900°) off5.4
  1. ↑ Valid for the 2025-2028 Code of Points

Competitive history

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Year Event AA Team VT UB BB FX
1993China Cup3rd
Romanian Nationals5th2nd3rd
1994American Cup9th
European Championships1st
GBR-ROM Dual Meet3rd1st
International Mixed Pairs6th
Massilia Elite5th2nd
USA-ROM Dual Meet7th1st
Team World Championships1st
1995European Cup2nd1st5th3rd1st
FRA-ROM Dual Meet2nd1st
French International3rd3rd5th
GBR-ROM Dual Meet3rd1st
Kosice Cup2nd2nd2nd
ROM-GER Dual Meet3rd1st
Romanian Nationals2nd
World Championships4th1st1st6th
1996European Championships4th1st1st1st5th7th
French International3rd5th
Hungarian International1st
ITA-BLR-ROM-RUS Meet2nd
International Championships of Romania1st
World Championships2nd
Olympic Games3rd3rd1st5th2nd
1997
World Championships2nd1st1st
Chunichi Cup2nd
Blume Memorial2nd
DTB Cup1st6th3rd
Arthur Gander Memorial1st
1998European Championships2nd1st2nd
Chunichi Cup6th
DTB Cup1st2nd1st2nd
Romanian International1st2nd1st1st
Swiss Cup3rd2nd2nd3rd
1999
World Championships14th1st2nd2nd
Chunichi Cup2nd
Arthur Gander Memorial2nd
Romanian International1st1st2nd1st1st
International Mixed Pairs1st1st
2000European Championships8th3rd1st2nd5th
Olympic Games1st1st6th3rd
Chunichi Cup1st
Cottbus World Cup2nd7th2nd
Romanian International2nd
National Championships1st

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Simona Amânar". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Simona Amanar – The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame". www.ighof.com. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Bucurescu, Adrian (28 August 2016). "Sunt aromânii în criză identitară?". Cotidianul (in Romanian).
  4. ↑ Toma, Mihai; Conțescu, Daniel (4 November 2013). "Aromânii care au făcut România mare! Intră aici și ascultă cea mai tare melodie dedicată Simonei Halep". Libertatea (in Romanian).
  5. 1 2 3 Clarey, Christopher (26 July 1996). "U.S. Gymnasts Take Back Seat in All-Around". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Glauber, Bill (31 July 1992). "Zmeskal steps out, then down: World champion is tearful 10th as Gutsu, Miller reign". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Penner, Mike (29 July 1996). "After the Rest Bow Out, Chow Gets Silver Medal". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Simona Amanar". olympic.org. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Selena (20 September 2000). "Romania Conquers and Americans Are Left Divided". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 Pells, Eddie (21 September 2000). "Gymnastics: Olympic Vault Set Too Low". ABC News. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Isaacson, Melissa (22 September 2000). "'Unthinkable' Error Mars Gymnastics Competition". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Roberts, Selena (22 September 2000). "Romania Sweeps as Controversy Swirls". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Roberts, Selena (26 September 2000). "Gymnast Tests Positive and Loses Gold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Pucin, Diane (26 September 2000). "Romanian Teenager Stripped of Gold". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "Romanian gymnastics team gives up two all-around medals". juneauempire.com. 26 September 2000. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  16. ↑ Chaudhary, Vivek (29 September 2000). "Bitter pill as tiny gymnast loses gold". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "Amanar retires as Raducan feted". BBC News. 1 October 2000. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "SIMONA AMANAR". Olympic.org. Olympics.org. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  19. ↑ FIG Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Women's Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2009–2012, page 163
  20. ↑ "Simona AMANAR". olympics.com. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  21. ↑ "Women's Artistic Gymnastics – 2025-2028 Code of Points" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
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