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Straight from the Horse’s Mouth, Part 1
26 February 2010, 20:49
How are gymnasts across the globe preparing for the 2010 Worlds, and what are
their dreams, intentions and expectations? Each athlete has his own strategy for
the Rotterdam Worlds. Since the event serves as one of two qualifying
competitions for the 2012 Olympics, it is vital that gymnasts wishing to go to
the Olympics do well in Rotterdam. We will keep an eye on the various teams’ and
individual gymnasts’ preparations for the 2010 Worlds. Watch this space for
frequent updates…
Romanian women’s head coach Nicolae Forminte:
Forminte’s objective for 2010 is ‘to obtain one or two medals at the European
Championships, and again at the World Championships. I’m not satisfied with the
results we obtained last year. I want the girls to have more confidence in
themselves, and to fully capitalise on what they learn in the gym.’
Romania’s chances of dominating the upcoming European Championships have been
somewhat compromised by the fact that the country’s three most famous gymnasts
(Sandra Izbaşa, Gabriela Drăgoi and Anamaria Tămîrjan) are all recovering from
leg injuries and/or surgery. Izbaşa tore her right Achilles tendon in September.
She is back in light training, but will certainly miss the European
Championships. For her part, Tămîrjan recently had a cyst removed from her left
knee, just months after undergoing surgery on her right knee. According to her
coach, the silver medallist on beam at the 2009 Europeans is making a good
recovery. ‘She has very good muscle tone,’ Nicolae Forminte recently told
ProSport. ‘She has already begun working on bars, without placing any burden
on her leg. She wants to make the team for the European Championships, but
whether or not she does depends on how well prepared she is, and on her weight.
We don’t want to push her too hard. We’d rather she’s OK come the World
Championships.’ Meanwhile, Gabriela Drăgoi’s recovery from a lower leg
operation is a bit more fraught. The 2009 European bronze medallist on beam will
have another check-up soon to see if her cartilage is on the mend. ‘We are
waiting for the doctors’ indications. Then we can make a plan,’ said
Forminte. The head coach currently expects the Romanian team for the European
Championships to be made up of the following girls: Ana Porgras, Diana Chelaru,
Amelia Racea, Raluca Haidu, Diana Trenca, Claudia Voicu, and possibly veteran
Cerasela Pătraşcu, who is also recovering from injury. (Source: ProSport
interviews, 27 January and 24 February 2010)
Dutch gymnast Jeffrey Wammes:
At the end of 2009, Dutch vault and floor specialist Jeffrey Wammes described
his goals for 2010 as follows: ‘I hope to perform to my full potential at the
2010 European and World Championships. I expect all the other Dutch gymnasts to
do very well, because what with the World Championships being held in Rotterdam,
everyone is keen on doing the best he can. So am I. I wish to raise my
difficulty scores on high bar, floor and vault, and I’m on the right track. I’m
performing well at the moment. I hope to make a few changes to my floor
exercise, but I’m not sure those changes will be ready by the World
Championships. I’d also like to perform a seven-point vault. I have high
expectations for 2010, because everything seems to be going just perfectly at
the moment.’ (Source: GymPOWER interview, December 2009)
Italian gymnast Vanessa Ferrari:
The 2006 all-around world champion, now 19, missed most of the 2009 season
because she underwent surgery last June to sort out her right Achilles tendon
and have a congenital bone tuberosity removed from her heel. Last December
Ferrari resumed full training. ‘I’m training twenty-five hours a week, and
I’m regaining my old weight,’ Ferrari (who gained ten kilos during her
absence from the sport) recently told an Italian newspaper. ‘I will soon
start competing again, in the first competition of the national championships in
the Serie A [Florence, 20 February].’ Ferrari will not compete the
all-around in Florence, just bars and beam. She hopes to do the all-around at
the European Championships, to be held in Birmingham from 28 April to 2 May.
‘I’ve been in full training since December. If I’m well, I’ll do well [in
Birmingham].’ Ferrari is determined to return to the forefront of the sport.
She has even quit her studies in order to dedicate herself to gymnastics. She
trains in Brescia, and lives close to the city with her mother Galia, after
having lived on her own in a guesthouse near the gym where she trained for six
months, much to her parents’ displeasure. She also has a new job of sorts. A few
months ago she was recruited by the army, and now she wears its uniform.
‘It’s my job. I chose to join the army to make sure I have a future. Gymnastics
doesn’t pay all that well, you know.’ Her goals for 2010? She intends to do
well at the Italian nationals and the European Championships. However, her main
goal is to shine brightly in October. ‘In Rotterdam, where the World
Championships are held…’ (Source: Il Messagero article, 5 February 2010)
Dutch gymnast Joy Goedkoop:
‘In October 2009 I competed in the London Worlds, which definitely whetted my
appetite for more! I expect to have a good year in 2010. I hope to make the team
for the European Championships, do well at Nationals, and also to make the team
for the World Championships, held on my own home turf. I bet it will be the
coolest and most beautiful experience ever!’ (Source: New Year’s Greetings,
Salland Centraal website, December 2009)
Romanian gymnast Marian Drăgulescu:
‘Who knows, I may become an all-arounder again,’ Marian Drăgulescu said
jokingly a few days after the London Worlds, where he competed on three events
(vault, floor and high bar) and ended up winning two of them. It now seems he
wasn’t joking. The eight-time world champion is training on all six events
again. ‘I think I’m capable of doing [six events again], and I’ve told myself
it is worth trying. My strategy is simple: to have three events where I’ll have
very high difficulty scores, and three events where I’ll have average difficulty
scores. I want to surprise people at the World Championships, just like I did
last year.’ He even plans to compete rings, an event where problems with his
vertebral column may just be asking for trouble. ‘My break from the sport and
the treatments I had in the United States have made a huge difference. I was a
bit apprehensive of rings at first, but I have not suffered any pain lately.’
(Source: ProSport interview, 19 January 2010)
Portuguese gymnast Manuel Campos:
‘My goal is to make no mistakes on any event in Rotterdam, so as to score as
many points for Portugal as I can. We wish to place in the top-24, so as to stay
in the running for a berth in the Olympic team competition. Holland and Portugal
are pretty much at the same level, but our rivalry is a friendly and respectful
one.’ (Source: GYMmagazine Worlds special No. 2 interview, November 2009)
Dutch men’s coach Bram van Bokhoven:
‘Right now the Dutch team is in a good place. I hope my gymnasts [Yuri van
Gelder and Jeffrey Wammes, among others] can qualify for the Rotterdam Worlds
and do a good job in front of our home crowd. We’ll have our work cut out for
us, though. The first thing our gymnasts will be doing is raise their difficulty
scores. At the European Championships [to be held in April-May 2010] we will
assess how we are doing, i.e. whether to start working on execution yet or
whether to keep working on our difficulty scores. I expect the gymnasts to start
focusing on perfect execution and reliable performances after the European
Championships, with an eye to doing well at the World Championships. So
basically, my objective is to make sure my gymnasts get the best possible
preparation for the upcoming World Championships.’ (Source: GymPOWER
interview, December 2009)
To be continued...
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