Catching up with Olympic Champion Catalina Ponor

Catalina Ponor is gymnastics royalty. With five Olympic medals and a plethora of World and European titles, Catalina is easily one of the greatest Romanian gymnasts of all time. She first emerged onto the scene in 2003, winning three silver medals at the World Championships. The following year she upgraded those silvers for gold by winning the team, beam, and floor titles at the European Championships and the Olympic Games! Throughout the next two years she claimed many more World titles before retiring at the end of 2007. Ponor surprised many when she decided to make a comeback in 2011. She went on to win two more Olympic medals at the London games (bronze with the Romanian team and silver on floor) and two more European titles (team and beam). We caught up with Catalina to reflect back on her gymnastics career and find out what she has been up to today.

How did you get started in gymnastics?
I remember I was with my grandma, holding her hand on the street, and we passed the gym. I didn't know what was inside there, but I was pushing my grandma to go inside! I was calling that building "school" because at four years old I didn't know what gymnastics was. So I convinced my grandma,we went inside the gym, and I fell in love when I saw all those events. It was like a fantastic world for me.

Who were your gymnastics idols growing up?
In the beginning I had many idols. My first idol was Nadia Comaneci because everybody knew about her. My mom was showing me Nadia's competitions and I wanted to be like her. After that I started to like [Lavinia] Milosovici's style; very focused, concentrated and powerful. And the elegance of Khorkina! With all these girls being my idols, I tried to mix it and make a new gymnast named Ponor. I don't know if that worked, but at least I tried!

You trained with the legendary Octavian Bellu and his wife Mariana Bitang, what were they like? 
They were exactly like they should be- strict in the gym and good people outside of the gym.

As a young gymnast, did you ever anticipate that you'd have the success you had?
When I started gymnastics I didn't know what kind of career I would have, but I was always dreaming to be a champion. I worked hard in the gym to archive that- to see myself in a big competition in first place.

You won a gold medal on every event you competed in Athens, how did your country react to your success? 
What happened in Athens was fantastic! It was more than a dream, something that you can not describe in words. Romania was reacting exactly how I was expecting- they were happy for me and cheering! The most impressive thing to see was the Romanian people in the arena crying and jumping along with us! So thanks Romania for your support!

You retired in 2007 and made a comeback in 2011, can you talk about that decision? 
When I retired in 2007 it was because I had problems with my back. I had two hernias which I still have to this day. Unfortunately I couldn't go to Beijing, but I really wanted to make a second Olympics and I was so sad because of that. I said to myself that I will never come back in the gym again! So I went two years only stepping in the gym to see my coaches. Eventually I decided to start coaching in the USA and one day I received an email from Mariana Bitang saying that they came back to coaching in gymnastics, so I was happy for them, but at the same time I wanted to come back and I also didn't! So I went back home and one day I woke up and told my mom I will start practicing again- and of course my mom started laughing!

How was 2004 different from 2012 in terms of preparation and expectations? 
Well in 2004 I was well prepared. I knew that I had been training for thirteen years for that moment and I was sure that I would do a good job there. I wasn't afraid of anything! People didn't know me too much and  I didn't have any pressure on me. In 2012, I was mature and I knew that if I came back, people would expect me to have the same results or at least to be as good as I was. So it was very hard for me to fight with my body, to fight with myself, to fight with 99% of the people around the world that couldn't trust in my thoughts that I could make a comeback after four years at home doing nothing, and to fight with the new generation and the new code of points.

So did you have high expectations for yourself in London? 
In London I didn't regret anything and said that I leave this sport with my chin up and proud of myself. Maybe I had more expectations on beam, but competitions are competitions and you never know what can happen and if it will be a bad day. I had many health problems in that time too, so I just wanted to finish the competition healthy.

During the beam finals in London, were you aware of the inquiry happening for Aly Raisman's score? 
On the results it said my name in 3rd and everyone was coming up to me saying congratulations. Soon after they made the appeal, that's when I knew it was gonna change. I did make a big mistake that you normally don't see. So I'm not gonna blame the judges, the coach, or the gymnast. That day I didn't eat anything and I was very light on the event and sometimes you cannot control your moves because of that. To be honest I was very mad at myself, because again, without that mistake, I could have got a medal very easy.

What has been the highlight of your career? 
Athens! It is and always will be the most beautiful moment from my career. Its something that not only I won't forget, but I don't think the gymnastics fans will either.



What is one thing that not many people know about you?
If they don't know, that means I don't want to say it! I'm kidding [laughs] I don't know, maybe the fact that I'm a different person outside the gym; a happy and kind person.

So are you officially retired or can we expect another comeback soon?
[Laughs] I've been asked this question many times and I can finally understand it because you never know when my craziness can come back and go in the gym! For now, I'm happy will all my projects and soon a new project will arrive, but I can't say more then that. For a comeback in gymnastics, I don't know! Maybe yes, maybe no. Never say never! The most important thing is to be healthy, even if I miss it a lot.

What have you been up to today?
I'm a co-designer for leotards for a french company called Decathon. I can say that we already see results! Of course we are just starting out, but soon we will start growing!

And lastly, what's one piece of advice you would give an aspiring young gymnast?
Never give up if you want to achieve your goals!

Thank you Catalina, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors.