The Athlete of the Week – Gymnast Larisa Iordache

The Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache this past Saturday was awarded the gold medal at the Glasgow World Cup competition.

România Internațional, 09.12.2014, 13:55

The Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache this past Saturday was awarded the gold medal at the Glasgow World Cup competition. According to the final rankings, Larisa compelled recognition with a total of 59.232 points. Canada’s Elisabeth Black was on the runner-up position, with 56.232 points, while 3rd placed was Jessica Lopez of Venezuela, with 55.899 points. Worth mentioning is that Larisa Iordache got the largest number of points for her performance in each of the four apparata. Taking into account her scintillating performance in Glasgow, Radio Romania International has designated Larisa Iordache the Athlete of the Week.

Larisa was born in Bucharest on June 19, 1996. She made her first steps in the top-flight gymnastics at the Cetate Deva National Sports High School. Later she was invited to be part of Romania’s Olympic team, currently doing their training nearby Bucharest in Izvorani. Larisa Iordache made her debut in major seniors’ competitions in Brussels in 2012. Back then she walked away with three medals, since she scooped gold in the floor event and in the nations’ competition and silver in the beam event.

At the London Olympics in 2012, Larisa won bronze in the nations’ competition. In 2013 at the European Championship in Moscow, Larisa Iordache walked away with gold in the beam event, while in the all-round, floor and vault events she grabbed silver. Also in 2013, at the World Championship in Antwerp, Belgium, Larisa Iordache won bronze in the floor event.

Earlier this month, Larisa Iordache was designated the 2014 Gymnast of the Year, on a par with Marius Berbecar, who is a regular of Romania’s men’s artistic gymnastics team, and Corina Constantin, double world champion in aerobic gymnastics. Bolstering Larisa Iordache’s recent nomination are the two silver medals she walked away with at the World Championships held in Nanjing, China, in the all-round and floor events. We should also note that in May 2014, Larisa Iordache’s record at the European Championships in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia included two gold medals she won in the nations’ competition and in the floor event, a silver medal she got in the beam event and a bronze medal she won in the vault event.