Corina Ungureanu
Encyclopedia
Corina Georgiana Ungureanu (born August 29. 1980, Ploieşti
, Romania
) is a world-class Romania
n artistic gymnast who competed internationally between 1993 and 1999. She was a member of two gold medal-winning World Championships teams and was the 1998 European Champion on the floor exercise.
Ungureanu began gymnastics at the Petrolul Ploieşti club in her hometown of Ploieşti, but spent the major part of her career training in Bucharest
under Leana Sima. At the Deva national training center, she was coached by Octavian Belu
. Ungureanu's first international assignment was a junior dual meet between Romania and Germany, where she placed first with her team and eighth in the all-around. She resurfaced on the international scene again in 1996, when she won the all-around title at the EcoAir Cup. She did not compete in the 1996 Olympics, but was a member of the gold medal-winning Romanian teams at the 1997 and 1999 World Gymnastics Championships
. She was forced to retire in 1999 due to a spinal cord injury
.
After retiring from gymnastics, she sparked some controversy by posing nude for the January 2000 edition of Playboy Romania
. These pictures were reprinted in Playboy
Japan in May 2000 and led to her producing a nude photobook
, ISBN 4-7976-7021-5, in Japan later that year. In 2002, along with former teammates Lavinia Miloşovici
and Claudia Presecan
, Ungureanu appeared in two Japanese DVD
s, Gold Bird and Euro Angels, which included scenes of the three gymnasts performing gymnastics routines topless. A second nude photobook, LCC Gold ISBN 4-87279-118-5, appeared at the same time. A number of photographs from the photobook and DVDs were subsequently published in the Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai
. An edited version of the DVDs entitled 3 Gold Girls was released in Germany in 2004.
The DVDs proved controversial as some of the scenes and publicity material featured the gymnasts in their official Romanian team leotards
. It later emerged that they had not been aware of the contractual obligation to wear their official leotards until filming had already begun http://www.romanian-gymnastics.com/news/2005/feb05/lavinia_milosovici_nude_photos_japan.htm. In the wake of the controversy, Ungureanu and her former teammates were banned from coaching or competing in Romania from 2002 to 2007. To compensate, Ungureanu spent some time coaching in Italy.
In 2004, her authorized biography, Corina Ungureanu: Beginning and End, written by Laurian Stãnchescu was published. Ungureanu is now also a spokesmodel for Bucovina SA, a bottled water
company in Romania. She currently manages a coffee shop called New Haven in Ploieşti with her boyfriend. In early 2007 she took up a coaching position in England, alongside former colleague Claudia Presecan.
Ungureanu posed for Playboy Romania again in March 2008.
Key: AA: all-around; BB: balance beam; FX: floor exercise; UB: uneven bars; VT: vault
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
) is a world-class Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n artistic gymnast who competed internationally between 1993 and 1999. She was a member of two gold medal-winning World Championships teams and was the 1998 European Champion on the floor exercise.
Ungureanu began gymnastics at the Petrolul Ploieşti club in her hometown of Ploieşti, but spent the major part of her career training in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
under Leana Sima. At the Deva national training center, she was coached by Octavian Belu
Octavian Belu
Octavian Ioan Atanase Bellu is the current head of the Romanian national women's artistic gymnastics team. He was the main coach with interruptions, between 1990 and 2005 and returned as head of the national team in 2010...
. Ungureanu's first international assignment was a junior dual meet between Romania and Germany, where she placed first with her team and eighth in the all-around. She resurfaced on the international scene again in 1996, when she won the all-around title at the EcoAir Cup. She did not compete in the 1996 Olympics, but was a member of the gold medal-winning Romanian teams at the 1997 and 1999 World Gymnastics Championships
World Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
. She was forced to retire in 1999 due to a spinal cord injury
Spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence...
.
After retiring from gymnastics, she sparked some controversy by posing nude for the January 2000 edition of Playboy Romania
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. These pictures were reprinted in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
Japan in May 2000 and led to her producing a nude photobook
Photobook
A photo-book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. The most critically acclaimed photo-books celebrate the creative work of an individual photographer, but can also result from the collaboration between a photographer and a writer, an...
, ISBN 4-7976-7021-5, in Japan later that year. In 2002, along with former teammates Lavinia Miloşovici
Lavinia Milosovici
Lavinia Corina Miloşovici is a Romanian Olympic gymnast. An exceptionally successful athlete on the international competition circuit, Miloşovici, also known as "Milo" in the gymnastics community, is considered to be one of Romania's top gymnasts of the 1990s and one of the most prolific female...
and Claudia Presecan
Claudia Presecan
Claudia Maria Presăcan, is a world-class Romanian artistic gymnast who competed at the senior international level between 1994 and 2000...
, Ungureanu appeared in two Japanese DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, Gold Bird and Euro Angels, which included scenes of the three gymnasts performing gymnastics routines topless. A second nude photobook, LCC Gold ISBN 4-87279-118-5, appeared at the same time. A number of photographs from the photobook and DVDs were subsequently published in the Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai
Shukan Gendai
is a Japanese weekly magazine published since 1959 by Kodansha. Published simultaneously with Weekly Post , it includes articles about political scandals, sports and celebrities; nude photos; movie information; book reviews; and other articles of interest to middle-aged salarymen...
. An edited version of the DVDs entitled 3 Gold Girls was released in Germany in 2004.
The DVDs proved controversial as some of the scenes and publicity material featured the gymnasts in their official Romanian team leotards
Uniform (gymnastics)
Athletes competing or training artistic gymnastics wear specific attire. The standard of dress for international competition is regulated by the FIG and the Code of Points.-Women:-Leotards:For females, the standard competition uniform is a leotard...
. It later emerged that they had not been aware of the contractual obligation to wear their official leotards until filming had already begun http://www.romanian-gymnastics.com/news/2005/feb05/lavinia_milosovici_nude_photos_japan.htm. In the wake of the controversy, Ungureanu and her former teammates were banned from coaching or competing in Romania from 2002 to 2007. To compensate, Ungureanu spent some time coaching in Italy.
In 2004, her authorized biography, Corina Ungureanu: Beginning and End, written by Laurian Stãnchescu was published. Ungureanu is now also a spokesmodel for Bucovina SA, a bottled water
Bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not...
company in Romania. She currently manages a coffee shop called New Haven in Ploieşti with her boyfriend. In early 2007 she took up a coaching position in England, alongside former colleague Claudia Presecan.
Ungureanu posed for Playboy Romania again in March 2008.
Major awards
- 1996 EcoAir Cup: 1st AA
- 1997 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships1997 World Artistic Gymnastics ChampionshipsThe 33rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1997.The 1997 Worlds were notable because they were the first major contest to be held after the elimination of compulsory exercises.-All-round:-Apparatus:...
: 1st team - 1997 International Team Championships: 1st team
- 1997 International Championship of Romania: 2nd AA
- 1997 Romanian Nationals: 2nd BB; 4th AA
- 1997 Germany-Romania dual meet: 1st team
- 1997 Romania-Italy-UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
tri-meet: 1st team; 4th AA - 1998 Goodwill GamesGoodwill GamesThe Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
: 3rd BB; 3rd FX - 1998 European Championships: 1st team, FX; 4th UB
- 1998 International Team Championships: 2nd team
- 1999 World Gymnastics Championships: 1st team
Key: AA: all-around; BB: balance beam; FX: floor exercise; UB: uneven bars; VT: vault
External links
- Bio at romanian-gymnastics.com
- List of competitive results
- Her biography at gymbox.net
- More about the book
- Interview about the Playboy scandal
- SportsIllustrated article about the DVD controversy
- Interview about the DVD controversy
- Article about her coffee shop, and her coaching in England (in Romanian)