Teodora Ungureanu
Encyclopedia
Teodora Ungureanu is a retired Romanian gymnast
who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics
. She is a three-time Olympic medalist (two silver and one bronze) and a world silver medalist. After retirement from gymnastics she enjoyed a successful career as a gymnastics coach. Currently, she and her husband Sorin Cepoi are coaching the 2011 USA senior team member Sabrina Vega
. Ungureanu is also rated as an International Gymnastics Official and serves as a judge at various competitions. In 2001, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
. She is not known to be related to the Romanian gymnast Corina Ungureanu
who competed in the late 1990s.
until she was twelve, when she joined the gymnastics school run by Béla Károlyi
and his wife Marta
. At her first Romanian National Championships, in 1971, she placed first in the all-around in the children's division. While Ungureanu was a skilled athlete, medalling at various World Cup and international events, she was frequently overshadowed by her more celebrated teammate Nadia Comăneci
. She placed second to Comaneci at various events, including the Romanian Nationals. At the 1976 Summer Olympics
, Ungureanu barely missed an all-around bronze, finishing fourth. She did win two individual medals in the event finals; a bronze on the balance beam and a silver on the uneven bars, and shared in the team's silver medal.
Ungureau's final meet was the 1979 World University Games, where she finished first in the all-around.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
. She is a three-time Olympic medalist (two silver and one bronze) and a world silver medalist. After retirement from gymnastics she enjoyed a successful career as a gymnastics coach. Currently, she and her husband Sorin Cepoi are coaching the 2011 USA senior team member Sabrina Vega
Sabrina Vega
Sabrina Vega is an American gymnast from Carmel, New York. Sabrina trains at Dynamic Gymnastics in Mohegan Lake, where she is coached by former Romanian Olympic medalist Teodora Ungureanu. She is a United States Senior National Team member and a 2011 World Champion...
. Ungureanu is also rated as an International Gymnastics Official and serves as a judge at various competitions. In 2001, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics....
. She is not known to be related to the Romanian gymnast Corina Ungureanu
Corina Ungureanu
Corina Georgiana Ungureanu is a world-class Romanian artistic gymnast who competed internationally between 1993 and 1999...
who competed in the late 1990s.
Gymnastics career
Ungureanu began gymnastics at the age of six. She trained in BucharestBucharest
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....
until she was twelve, when she joined the gymnastics school run by Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi is a Romanian gymnastics coach. He was born in what was then Kolozsvár, Hungary, a region restored to Romanian administration after 1944. Károlyi and his wife, Márta, also of Hungarian origin, emigrated to the United States in 1981 and both have dual citizenships for Romania and the...
and his wife Marta
Marta Károlyi
Márta Károlyi , is an American gymnastics coach and the National Team Coordinator for USA Gymnastics. Károlyi is originally from Romania, she and her husband, Béla, are ethnic Hungarians, and trained athletes there as well, but defected to the United States in 1981...
. At her first Romanian National Championships, in 1971, she placed first in the all-around in the children's division. While Ungureanu was a skilled athlete, medalling at various World Cup and international events, she was frequently overshadowed by her more celebrated teammate Nadia Comăneci
Nadia 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...
. She placed second to Comaneci at various events, including the Romanian Nationals. At the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
, Ungureanu barely missed an all-around bronze, finishing fourth. She did win two individual medals in the event finals; a bronze on the balance beam and a silver on the uneven bars, and shared in the team's silver medal.
Ungureau's final meet was the 1979 World University Games, where she finished first in the all-around.