Main:Monica Roşu

Monica Roşu
Roşu at the 2004 Olympic Games
Nickname(s)	Mona
Country represented	Romania
Born	May 11 1987 (1987-05-11) Bacău, Bacău County, Moldavia, Romania
Years on National Team	2000-2005
Club	CSS Bacău
Coach(es)	Octavian Belu & Mariana Bitang
Current status	Retired

Monica Roşu (born May 11, 1987 in Bacău) is an artistic gymnast from Romania. During her career, she won two Olympic gold medals (team and vault), a silver medal with the team at world championships and two gold continental medals (team and vault).

Early Life and Career

Monica started gymnastics in 1991 at age four and trained during her early years at CSS Bacău. Powerful and hardworking, Roşu was selected to train for the junior national team and left her family for Oneşti, then the site of the junior training center. The world got its first glimpse of young Roşu at the Top Gym Tournament in early 2000. When two juniors from Deva pulled out unexpectedly just days before the meet began, Roşu was selected as a last-minute replacement. Held annually in Charleroi, Belgium, the Top Gym Tournament is one of the most prestigious international junior competitions. Competing with an ankle injury and first-meet jitters, Monica's performance left much to be desired. After multiple falls, she finished 12th all-around and few fans ever expected to see her again. Determined to improve, Roşu competed internationally in the Netherlands and Slovakia in 2001. Always a powerful tumbler, she made great strides in vaulting and floor exercise and soon moved with her teammates to the national training center in Deva. Still a junior in 2002, she competed at the Romanian International, placing fourth. She went on to be a part of the junior squad at the European Championships, where she earned bronze medals on vault and floor exercise. Her second and last participation at the prestigious Top Gym Turnament turned out a success; she won the trophy ahead of teammate Alexandra Eremia.

Senior Career

Rosu with her vault gold medal

Over the next two years, Roşu competed national and internationally, gaining a great deal of experience. She competed at her first world championships in the U.S. in 2003, winning silver with her team and placing fourth on the vault. She then won gold on vault and with the team at the European Championships the following spring. Roşu's finest hour came during the 2004 Olympics in Athens. With Cătălina Ponor, Daniela Sofronie, Oana Ban, Alexandra Eremia and Silvia Stroescu she was a part of the Romanian team who successfully defended their Olympic team title. In a dominant performance they won by nearly a full point and finished top on three of the four apparatus. The strongest vaulter on the team, she contributed scores in the finals of 9.625 on vault and 9.387 onbars. Roşu also won gold on the vault, competing the two most difficult vaults of the Olympic Games and indeed the most difficult ever performed by a woman in an Olympic competition so far. She scored 9.575 (S.V: 9.9) and 9.737 (S.V: 10.0). She was nearly two tenths ahead of her nearest rival, Annia Hatch.

After injuring herself in 2005, and showing sub-par performances, Roşu failed to make the 2005 World Championship team and has since retired.

Medal Count

Year	Event	TF	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2000	Top Gym Tournament		12
	Tournament of Arques		3rd
2002	International Championships of Romania		4
	Patras Junior European Championships			3rd			3rd
	Top Gym Tournament		1st
	Arthur Gander Memorial		3rd
	Swiss Cup	1st
	GBR-ROM Dual Meet	1st	2nd
	China Motor Cup		2nd
2003	Romanian National Championships			1st
	International Championships of Romania		1st	1st			1st
	Massilia Gym Cup		2nd
	Anaheim World Championships	2nd		4
	Cottbus International			3rd
	NoyNoy Grand Prix			4	8
	ESP-ROM-BRA Tri-Meet	1st
2004	Arthur Gander Memorial		2nd
	Swiss Cup		2nd
	ESP-ROM Dual Meet	1st	1st
	Amsterdam European Championships	1st		1st
	Athens Olympic Games	1st		1st
	Birmingham World Cup Final			2nd

Floor Music

2004 - "In the Mouth of the Mountain King"