Maria Olaru

Maria Olaru
Olaru at the 2000 Olympic Games
Full name	Maria Ludovica Olaru
Country represented	Romania
Born	June 4 1982 (1982-06-04) Falticeni, Suceava County, Moldavia, Romania
Years on National Team	1993-2000
Coach(es)	Octavian Belu & Mariana Bitang
Current status	Retired

Maria Ludovica Olaru (born June 4, 1982 in Fălticeni) is a retired Olympic artistic gymnast from Romania. She is an Olympic, world, and European gold medalist with the team. Individually, she is the 1999 all around world champion and the 2000 Olympic all around silver medalist. Her best event was the vault on which she medaled at world and continental competitions. Olaru was one of the tallest gymnasts competing in the late 1990s, standing 5'3"/160 cm. After retirement she became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the West University of Timişoara.

Early Life and Career

Olaru began gymnastics at the age of six in her hometown of Fălticeni, but quickly transferred to the local gymnastics club in Deva. She moved up to the junior national team in 1993, but after six months, she returned to her home club. In 1995 she rejoined the junior team in Bucharest. Olaru graduated to the Deva national training facility in 1996, after winning gold on vault at the Junior European Championships. In the same year she also won the prestigious Top Gym Trophy in Charleroi, Belgium.

Senior Career

Olaru at the 1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

In 1998 Olaru moved up to senior competition, taking first place with the Romanian team and second on vault at the European Championships. The following year, she contributed to the team gold medal at the 1999 World Championships in Tianjin, China and became the second Romanian gymnast in

From left: Isarescu, Amanar, Raducan, Olaru, Boboc, and Presacan with their team gold medals

history, after Aurelia Dobre, to win the all-around title. In 2000 she was together with Simona Amânar, Loredana Boboc, Andreea Isărescu, Claudia Presacan and Andreea Răducan a member of the Romanian team at the 2000 Olympics. Here she shared in the team gold medal and won a bronze in the all-

From left: Amanar, Raducan, and Olaru with their all-around medals

around (this was changed to a silver after the Andreea Raducan scandal). She also qualified for the balance beam event final and placed sixth.

Retirement

Olaru retired after the 2000 Olympics, noting that the new Code of Points would not be suited to gymnasts of her height, and enrolled as a student at the West University of Timişoara. After graduation she continued her studies and she became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the West University of Timişoara.

Medal Count

Year	Event	TF	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
1996	Birmingham Junior European Championships			1st
	Top Gym Trophy		1st
	Romanian International		3rd
1997	Arthur Gander Memorial		3rd
	Romanian International			1st			1st
	Massilia Gym Cup		1st
	International Team Championships	1st	1st
1998	Romanian International		2nd	1st
	International Team Championships	2nd	3rd
	Saint Petersburg European Championships	1st		2nd
1999	Tianjin World Championships	1st	1st
	Chunichi Cup		1st
	Massilia Gym Cup		1st
	Hungarian International		2nd
2000	Arthur Gander Memorial		2nd
	Hungarian International		1st
	Romanian International		1st
	Swiss Cup		3rd
	Paris European Championships	3rd
	Sydney Olympic Games	1st	2nd			6
	Romanian National Championships		4

Floor Music

1996 - "Perhaps"

1997 - "Inspiration"

1998-1999 - "Invisible Circus" by Vienna Symphony Orchestra

2000 - "Black Cat, White Cat" by Emir Kusturcia