Gabriela Drăgoi

Gabriela Drăgoi (born August 28, 1992, in Buzău, Romania) is a Romanian artistic gymnast.[1] She is an Olympic bronze medalist and a European gold medalist with the team. Individually, she is a European bronze medalist on balance beam.

Gabriela Drăgoi
Nickname(s)Gabi
Country represented Romania
Born (1992-08-28) August 28, 1992
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
ClubCSS Buzău
Head coach(es)Octavian Bellu, Mariana Bitang
Assistant coach(es)Liliana Cozma
Former coach(es)Nicolae Forminte, Costică Cliniciu, Gabriela Trușcă
ChoreographerPuia Valer
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2008 BeijingTeam
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2008 ClermontTeam
Bronze medal – third place2009 MilanBalance beam

Early gymnastics career

Drăgoi began gymnastics at the age of four at CSS Buzău, training under Costică Cliniciu and 1976 Olympic silver medalist Gabriela Trușcă (now Gabriela Robu).[2] In 2007, she placed fourth in the all-around at the 7th Lugano International Trophy[3] and eighth all-around, sixth on vault, eighth on uneven bars and fourth on floor at the 27th International Junior Competition in Yokohama.[4]

Senior career

2008 and the Olympic Games

Drăgoi's first major international competition was the 2008 European Championships, where she competed in the team finals after Cerasela Pătraşcu injured her foot during qualifications.[5] Drăgoi helped the Romanian team win the gold medal by competing on vault (14.225) and uneven bars (14.600).[6]

At the 2008 Romanian Nationals, Drăgoi placed first on beam, ahead of the more experienced Steliana Nistor. She also placed seventh in the all-around and sixth on vault,[7] and was selected—along with Nistor, Sandra Izbaşa, Andreea Grigore, Andreea Acatrinei, and Anamaria Tămârjan—to be a member of the Romanian team at the 2008 Olympic Games.

At the Olympics, Drăgoi helped Romania qualify in fourth place to the team finals by competing on uneven bars (14.225), beam (15.450), and floor (14.250). Her score on floor was the lowest among her teammates and was not counted. However, her score on beam was the highest, and she qualified to the beam final in seventh place.[8] In the team final, she helped Romania win the bronze medal by competing on the uneven bars (14.425).[9] Individually, she placed fifth in the beam final with a score of 15.625.[10]

2009

Struggling with health problems, Drăgoi was not at her full physical potential at the 2009 European Championships.[11] However, she qualified to the beam finals in sixth place and was ninth on uneven bars.[12] She won bronze in the beam finals behind her teammate Tămârjan and Ukrainian Yana Demyanchuk.[13] In May, she competed at the Glasgow Grand Prix, where she won the bronze on balance beam and placed fifth on uneven bars and sixth on floor.[14] Later that year, she replaced an injured Izbaşa at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[15] There, she placed 11th and 17th in the uneven bars and beam qualifications, respectively.[16]

2010

In January 2010, Drăgoi underwent surgery for a torn tibia.[17] She made a comeback in August at a friendly meet in Great Britain, where she placed first with the team and fourth on uneven bars.[18] Later that year, she was selected to the Romanian team for the 2010 World Championships. She placed fourth with the team at Worlds.[19]

References
  1. NBC Olympics Bios Gabriela Drăgoi
  2. Steliana Nistor Unofficial Fan Site; News Archive Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Gabi Drăgoi, the pride of Buzău, (translation of Romanian article)
  3. Gymnastics Results 7th Lugano Trophy 2007
  4. "27th International Junior Competition". Archived from the original on November 26, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  5. International Gymnast Magazine Romanians lead European Championships qualifications, April 3, 2008
  6. European Union of Gymnastics 2008 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships; Official Results
  7. Gymnastics Results Archived March 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine 2008 Romanian Nationals
  8. Results Beijing Women’s Qualification
  9. Wikipedia Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics; Women’s team final
  10. Wikipedia Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics; Women’s balance beam
  11. International Gymnast Magazine Romanians confident of medals in Milan, Amanda Turner, March 26, 2009
  12. International Gymnast Magazine Semyonova leads European qualifications, Amanda Turner, April 2, 2009
  13. International Gymnast Magazine France, Britain, double winners in Milan, Amanda Turner, April 5, 2009
  14. Gymnastics Results Archived December 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine 2009 Glasgow Grand Prix
  15. International Gymnast Magazine Izbasa Out of Worlds with Torn Achilles' Tendon, September 18, 2009, by Dwight Normile
  16. Gymnastics Results Archived December 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
  17. Steliana Nistor Unofficial Site:News Archived February 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine English translation of articles appeared in Prosport (Romanian)
  18. Romanian Gymnastics Federation Ipswich Competition Results
  19. International Gymnast Magazine Schedule, start lists and results, October, 2010
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