Cristina Bontas
Encyclopedia
Cristina Bontaş is a Romanian artistic gymnast, who competed in international events between 1987 and 1993. Her best events were the floor exercise, the vault
and the all around. She is a world champion on floor, a double olympic medalist and a six-time world medalist. Bontaş scored a perfect ten on floor in the all around event of the 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
.
and Mihai Săndulescu. She had a successful junior career medaling in various competitions. In 1987
her debut at a major international event (International Japan Junior Invitational) brought her four medals, one gold for vault and three silver for the all around, uneven bars and floor. At the 1988 Junior European Championships, Avignon
, France
she won bronze in the all around event and she managed a fifth place on vault and a seventh place on floor.
The 1988 Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba) was another especially successful meet: she won gold for floor, bronze for balance beam and vault and finished fourth in the all around event. In spite of her successful junior career she was the second and therefore the non traveling alternate for the team at the 1988 Olympics
.
, finishing on the fourth place in the all around event ahead of the great Daniela Silivaş
and just behind the trio of Soviet medalists (Boginskaya, Laschenova and Strazheva). In the all around event she scored a perfect 10 for the floor exercise. She won bronze on floor in a final in which the silver medal was not rewarded and tied for silver on vault with Brandy Johnson
. Cristina also contributed to the team's silver medal by achieving the third highest average score of her team.
In 1990 she won silver medal on vault at the European Championships Athens
, Greece
and placed seventh in the floor and uneven bars events.
Indianapolis
, USA she tied for gold for floor with Oksana Chusovitina
. Her performance on the floor exercise based on a musical background of well-known American songs (like e.g., "The Star-Spangled Banner
" (USA anthem), "Oh Susanna", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", "Yankee Doodle" and "Deep in the Heart of Texas") energized the crowds. She also won the bronze medal on the all-around event, contributed heavily to the team bronze with the highest average score of her team and placed fourth on vault, seventh on uneven bars and eight on balance beam.
, Gina Gogean
, Mirela Paşca
, Vanda Hădărean
, and Maria Neculiţă
, Cristina was a team member of the Romanian team at the 1992 Olympics
Barcelona
, Spain
. In the team finals she had once again the highest contributing score of all her colleagues, highlighted by an average 9.95 on the floor exercise. She qualified first in the floor finals, third all around and fifth in the balance beam finals. She won silver with the team, tied for the bronze medal on floor exercise with Tatiana Gutsu
and Shannon Miller
, and placed fourth in the all-around and beam finals.
In September 2003, Bontaş and her husband opened their own gymnastics club in Hamilton, World Class Gymnastics. Here Cristina is training her pupils for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Vault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
and the all around. She is a world champion on floor, a double olympic medalist and a six-time world medalist. Bontaş scored a perfect ten on floor in the all around event of the 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 25th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Stuttgart, West Germany, in 1989 from October 14 to October 22.The scoring rule New Life was introduced for the first time ever...
.
Early life and career
She started training at the age of seven at the CSM Oneşti club under coaches Nadia ComăneciNadia Comaneci
Nadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
and Mihai Săndulescu. She had a successful junior career medaling in various competitions. In 1987
her debut at a major international event (International Japan Junior Invitational) brought her four medals, one gold for vault and three silver for the all around, uneven bars and floor. At the 1988 Junior European Championships, Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
she won bronze in the all around event and she managed a fifth place on vault and a seventh place on floor.
The 1988 Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba) was another especially successful meet: she won gold for floor, bronze for balance beam and vault and finished fourth in the all around event. In spite of her successful junior career she was the second and therefore the non traveling alternate for the team at the 1988 Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
.
1989-1990
Her debut as a senior in an international event was at the 1989 Romanian Internationals where she medaled silver for all around, uneven bars and floor and bronze for vault. 1989 was the start of a series of medals for floor and vault in international events. Cristina was the surprise top Romanian gymnast at the 1989 World Championships1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 25th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Stuttgart, West Germany, in 1989 from October 14 to October 22.The scoring rule New Life was introduced for the first time ever...
, finishing on the fourth place in the all around event ahead of the great Daniela Silivaş
Daniela Silivas
Viorica Daniela Silivaş-Harper , best known as Daniela Silivaş, is a Romanian gymnast who is most famous for winning six medals in women's artistic gymnastics at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea...
and just behind the trio of Soviet medalists (Boginskaya, Laschenova and Strazheva). In the all around event she scored a perfect 10 for the floor exercise. She won bronze on floor in a final in which the silver medal was not rewarded and tied for silver on vault with Brandy Johnson
Brandy Johnson
Brandy Johnson, also known as Brandy Johnson-Scharpf is a retired American gymnast, gymnastics judge and stuntwoman....
. Cristina also contributed to the team's silver medal by achieving the third highest average score of her team.
In 1990 she won silver medal on vault at the European Championships Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and placed seventh in the floor and uneven bars events.
1991
At the 1991 World Championships1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 26th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Indianapolis, USA, in the Hoosier Dome, September 6 to 15, 1991.-Medals:-All-round:-Apparatus:-All-round:-Apparatus:-References:**...
Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, USA she tied for gold for floor with Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina is an Olympic medalist and World Champion gymnast who has competed for Germany since 2006. She was formerly a citizen of, and a competitor for, the Soviet Union and Uzbekistan ....
. Her performance on the floor exercise based on a musical background of well-known American songs (like e.g., "The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
" (USA anthem), "Oh Susanna", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", "Yankee Doodle" and "Deep in the Heart of Texas") energized the crowds. She also won the bronze medal on the all-around event, contributed heavily to the team bronze with the highest average score of her team and placed fourth on vault, seventh on uneven bars and eight on balance beam.
1992 Olympic Games
Together with Lavinia MiloşoviciLavinia 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...
, Gina Gogean
Gina Gogean
Gina Gogean is a retired gymnast from Romania who competed internationally in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. During her career she won an impressive number of 30 medals at Olympic Games, world championships or continental championships...
, Mirela Paşca
Mirela Pasca
Mirela Ana Paşca is a Romanian artistic gymnast, who competed in international events between 1990 and 1992. She is an Olympic silver medalist and a world bronze medalist with the team. Individually, she is a world bronze medalist and a European champion on uneven bars...
, Vanda Hădărean
Vanda Hadarean
Vanda Maria Hădărean is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast who competed in international events between 1990 and 1993. She is an Olympic silver medalist and a world bronze medalist with the team and a European all around bronze medalist. She is also a successful fitness model and she has won...
, and Maria Neculiţă
Maria Neculita
Maria Neculiţă is a Romanian artistic gymnast who competed in international events between 1988 and 1992. Her best events were the floor and the beam. She won the team silver medal at the 1992 Olympics and team bronze at the 1991 World Championships...
, Cristina was a team member of the Romanian team at the 1992 Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In the team finals she had once again the highest contributing score of all her colleagues, highlighted by an average 9.95 on the floor exercise. She qualified first in the floor finals, third all around and fifth in the balance beam finals. She won silver with the team, tied for the bronze medal on floor exercise with Tatiana Gutsu
Tatiana Gutsu
Tatiana Konstantinivna Gutsu is a Ukrainian gymnast, winner of the 1992 Olympic all-around title. Renowned as a trickster, the routines she competed were some of the most difficult ever in the sport...
and Shannon Miller
Shannon Miller
Shannon Lee Miller is a former artistic gymnast from Edmond, Oklahoma. She is the most decorated gymnast in U.S. History, and considered one of the greatest gymnasts the United States has ever produced...
, and placed fourth in the all-around and beam finals.
Post retirement
Cristina retired after the 1992 Olympic games. She first coached in Romania and did some TV commentaries for gymnastics events. Later, she coached in Italy and in Wales. When the contract in Wales was up, Bontas immigrated to Canada to coach at Hamilton's Mountain Star Gymnastics. She went back to Romania in 1998 to marry, returning to Canada without husband Gabi Tătaru while they waited for immigration papers. After several months, her husband was able to join her in Canada, he too coaching at Hamilton Mountain Gym Elites (formerly Mountain Star Gymnastics). The couple have a daughter named Elisa, born May 1999 and a son, born April 2002.In September 2003, Bontaş and her husband opened their own gymnastics club in Hamilton, World Class Gymnastics. Here Cristina is training her pupils for the 2012 Olympic Games.