MARIA NECULITA

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Date of birth: March 30th 1974
Gender: Female
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Children: None
Place of birth: Deva
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Music #1                      Author #1

Maria Neculita was one of the most elegant and creative gymnasts to ever come out of Romania. Unfortunately for her, she never seemed to live up to her potential, but she won herself many fans with her unique and difficult routines.

Gymnastics was a natural choice for the 8-year old youngster who became fascinated with the sport after seeing an open-air competition organized by the Cetate Deva club. Her parents signed her up for lessons, and pretty soon, she was going to school at Deva and training at the Cetate Deva Gymnastics Club.

Maria's progress surprised even some of her coaches and it didn't take long for her to become one of the best gymnasts at the club. She was selected to be on the Senior National team in 1987.
Maria's first international medal came at the prestigious Moscow News,where she finished 3rd in floor final in 1988. She went on to win a silver in the all around at the 1989 Cottbus meet and helped the Romanian team finish second. The 1990 season was off to an auspicious start after her all around victory at the Romanian International. She was selected to be on the Romanian team for the 1990 European Championships, along with Cristina Bontas and Mirela Pasca. Maria finished sixth in the all round competition, third on beam and fifth on floor, great results by anyone's standards, but based on those results, the national coaches decided not to send her to the World Cup -- opting instead for a team made up of Mirela Pasca and Cristina Bontas.

Instead of complaining about what happened, Maria started getting ready for next year and found a new hobby: choreographing floor routines (she helped choreograph her floor routines in 1991 and 1992). Maria finished second in the all around at the 1991 Romanian International, and went on to compete for Romania in that year's World Championships. Despite the fact that many experts and fans felt Maria was one of the best beam and floor performers in the world, she was one of the first gymnasts in the line-up for both events.

The 1992 Balkan games were her last competition and she left the sport winning the all around (ahead of Gina Gogean) , the floor and beam finals and finishing second on bars. " I think I was lucky enough to do something I love and be good at it", she said when asked what were her final thoughts on her career.

Maria is still very much involved in the gymnastics and in 1995, ProSport reported Maria was coaching in Nuero, Italy at the Centro Sportiva Osaka club. Her gymnasts were reported to be showing some great results at the club level. More than any other gymnast, Maria had a right to get frustrated with a sport, where she never got a chance to shine, despite her amazing talent and all her hard work. Instead, she was always the first gymnast to smile at her fans, and the last one to leave an autograph session. She will always be remembered for her wonderful personality and for leaving her mark on the sport as one of the few gymnasts who combined artistry and difficulty in her original routines. And, most of all, for being able to say so much with a simple smile at the end of a routine. (compiled from a Ioana Jadic tribute)


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