Athlete of the Week on RRI - Gymnast Ana-Maria Bărbosu

Ever since the London Olympics in 2012, Romania has not managed to qualify to the gymnastics event. 11 years ago, in North Greenwigh Arena, Sandra Izbașa won gold in the vault final, Cătălina Ponor scooped silver in the floor final, while Romanai won bronze in the team event. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Marian Drăgulescu picked up Romania's best result, ranking 4th in the vault event. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, no Romanian gymnast reached the finals. After a bad spell for Romanian gymnastics, the Romanian women's team has again secured qualification to the Olympic Games.

At the World Championships hosted by Antwerp, Belgium, our gymnasts ranked 10th in the team event, a position that guarantees their presence in Paris, although they didn't make it to the final in Belgium. The biggest contribution belongs to Ana-Maria Bărbosu, who brought the most points to Romania's total. For her performance in Belgium, we have designated Ana-Maria Bărbosu Athlete of the Week on RRI.

In Antwerp, Romania's team was made up of Ana Maria Bărbosu, Sabrina Voinea, Lilia Cosman, Amalia Ghigoarţă, Andreea Preda and Ella Oprea Creţu. Only Andreea Preda and Ana-Maria Bărbosu competed in all events. Ana-Maria obtained the 19th score in the final standings, qualifying to the individual all-around event. Sabrina Voinea will compete in the floor final, whereas in the beam final she is third in line on the reserve list.

Ana-Maria Bărbosu was born July 27, 2006 in Focșani (eastern Romania). Her first notable performance was at the European Championships of 2020 in Mersin, Turkey, where in the Under-21 competition she won gold in the individual all-around and team events. At the 2022 European Championships in Munich, she ranked 4th in the floor event, the best result for Romania. In last autumn's World Championships in Liverpool, she ranked 20th in the individual all-around event. In 2023, at the European Championships in Antalya, Turkey, Ana-Maria Bărbosu ranked 5th with the team, a position that secured Romania's presence at the World Championships in Antwerp. (VP)