View source for Maria Olaru

{{Short description|Romanian gymnast (born 1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox gymnast
| name            = Maria Olaru
| image           =
| imagesize       = 
| caption         = 
| fullname        = 
| altname         = 
| nickname        = 
| country         = {{ROM}}
| formercountry   = 
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|1982|06|04|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [[Fălticeni]], Romania
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| height          = 160 cm
| discipline      = WAG
| natlteam        = 1993–2000 ([[Romania women's national gymnastics team|ROM]])
| club            = 
| gym             = 
| collegeteam     = 
| headcoach       = 
| assistcoach     = 
| formercoach     = 
| choreographer   = 
| music           = 
| eponymousskills = 
| retired         = 2000
| show-medals     = yes
| medaltemplates  = <!-- see [[Template:MedalRelatedTemplates]] -->
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]]}}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|60px]]
{{MedalGold|[[Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|Team}}
{{MedalSilver|[[Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|All-Around}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1999 Tianjin]]|Team}}
{{MedalGold|[[1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1999 Tianjin]]|All-Around}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1999 Tianjin]]|Vault}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships|European Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1998 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1998 St Petersburg]]|Team}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1998 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1998 St Petersburg]]|Vault}} 
}}

'''Maria Olaru''' (born 4 June 1982)<ref name = SRMO>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417183431/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ol/maria-olaru-1.html Sports Reference] Maria Olaru</ref> is a [[Romania]]n former [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] [[Artistic gymnastics|artistic gymnast]]. She is an Olympic, World, and European gold medalist with the team. Individually, she was the 1999 all-around world champion and the 2000 Olympic all-around silver medalist. Her best event was the [[Vault (gymnastics)|vault]] on which she medaled at world and continental competitions. Olaru was one of the tallest gymnasts competing in the late 1990s, standing {{convert|160|cm|ftin|frac=2|abbr=on}}. After retirement she became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the [[West University of Timișoara]].<ref name=UT>[http://www.sport.uvt.ro/didactic.php West University of Timişoara] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410093934/http://www.sport.uvt.ro/didactic.php |date=2012-04-10 }} Faculty of Sports and Physical Education Staff</ref>

==Early life and career==
Born in [[Fălticeni]], Olaru began gymnastics at the age of six there, but quickly transferred to the local gymnastics club in [[Deva, Romania|Deva]]. She moved up to the junior national team in 1993, but after six months, she returned to her home club. In 1995 she rejoined the junior team in [[Bucharest]]. Olaru graduated to the Deva national training facility in 1996, after winning gold on [[Vault (gymnastics)|vault]] at the Junior European Championships.<ref name = GFEC96>[http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/jeuro-results.html Gymn-Forum Results] 1996 Junior European Championships</ref> In the same year she also won the Top Gym Trophy in [[Charleroi]], [[Belgium]].<ref name=TG>[http://www.gymnos.be/ Top Gym] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102200051/http://www.gymnos.be/ |date=2012-01-02 }} Palmares Complet</ref>

==Senior career==
In 1998 Olaru moved up to senior competition, taking first place with the Romanian team and second on vault at the European Championships.<ref name = GREC98>[http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/90/e1998w.html Gymnastics Results] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124171041/http://gymnasticsresults.com/90/e1998w.html |date=2010-11-24 }} 1998 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships</ref> The following year, she contributed to the team gold medal at the [[1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1999 World Championships]] in [[Tianjin]], [[China]] and became the second Romanian gymnast in history, after [[Aurelia Dobre]], to win the all-around title. In 2000, she was, with [[Simona Amânar]], [[Loredana Boboc]], [[Andreea Isărescu]], [[Claudia Presăcan]] and [[Andreea Răducan]], a member of the Romanian team at the [[Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Olympics]]. There she shared in the team gold medal and won a silver in the all-around (after the Răducan controversy). She also qualified for the balance beam event final and placed sixth.

==Post retirement==
Olaru retired after the [[Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Olympics]], noting that the new [[Code of Points (artistic gymnastics)|Code of Points]] would not be suited to gymnasts of her height, and enrolled as a student at the [[West University of Timișoara]]. After graduation she continued her studies, and she became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the West University of Timișoara.<ref name =UT/>

In 2016, Olaru published her autobiography, ''The Price of Gold. Uncomfortable Sincerity''. In it, she recounted how she and her Romanian teammates were hit and beaten by their coaches during training.<ref>[http://www.romania-insider.com/dark-secret-behind-romanian-gymnastics-performances/ "Romanian gymnastics world champion reveals dark side of performance in autobiography"]. romania-insider.com. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.</ref>

==Skills==
*Vault: Double-twisting [[Yurchenko (vault)|Yurchenko]], Phelps
*Uneven Bars: Kip cast to handstand 1.5 handstand pirouette to mixed grip giant, immediate pike Jaeger; giant 1.5  pirouette into Tkatchev, Pak salto, Back-in Full-out tucked dismount
*Balance Beam: piked front mount, wolf jump, tucked Korbut; flip flop, full (or flip flop, layout step out, Korbut); switch side; front tuck, tuck jump; 3/4 twisting Shushonova; cartwheel, swing through double full dismount
*Floor Exercise: Round-off, whip back, 2.5 twist, punch pike; front-handspring, front double twist, punch front; Round-off, back-handspring, triple twist. Her music for floor routines was:
** 1999: "Invisible Circus" by [[Vienna Symphony Orchestra]]
** 2000: Soundtrack from the film ''[[Black Cat, White Cat]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{FIG|bio=21907|lic=383|name=Maria Olaru}}
* [http://www.intlgymnast.com/events/2003/worlds/news-olaru.html Maria Olaru interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027055838/http://www.intlgymnast.com/events/2003/worlds/news-olaru.html |date=27 October 2006 }} 2003, ''International Gymnast Magazine''
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808133926/http://geocities.com/gimnastica/articles03/olaruupdate.html |date=dmy |title=Maria Olaru update - Agenda Timişoara – via geocities.com/gimnastica}}
* [http://www.gymn-forum.net/bios/women/olaru.html Maria Olaru] at Gymn Forum
* {{Olympics.com|maria-olaru|org_archive=20160920103455}}
* {{Olympedia}}

{{Olympic champions artistic gymnastics Women TC|2000}}
{{NavigationWorldChampionsArtisticGymnasticsWomenTC|1999}}
{{NavigationWorldChampionsArtisticGymnasticsWomenAA}}
{{Footer European Artistic Gymnastics Team Champions (Women)|1998}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olaru, Maria}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Romanian female artistic gymnasts]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gymnasts for Romania]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Romania]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Romania]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in gymnastics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World champion gymnasts]]
[[Category:Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Fălticeni]]
[[Category:European champions in gymnastics]]
[[Category:20th-century Romanian sportswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century Romanian sportswomen]]