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| Sunday, 5 September 2004 |
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Catalina Ponor : Reaping Gold by Ranga Kamaladasa Sweet sixteen. It's wonderful to be sixteen. To feel the beautiful and wondrous world around you. To dance in the rain, wet, soaking, without a care in the world. To fall in love. To feel the world anew.... At the fabulous age of sixteen, while other girls were pursuing romantic dreams Catalina Ponor chose to compete for the World championships. And received an unusual birthday present, her first ever international-level medal in the field of gymnastics. Since the tender age of 5, Catalina nursed her passion for gymnastics and pursued the dream of being the world's best. Unwavering passion saw her fulfilling this dream in 2003. And in achieving a medal she also became the first ever Romanian gymnast (male or female) to earn more than one medal, in the World Championships. Her medal tally included a triple silver, in balance beam, floor exercise, and team. "I feel pretty good, but it could have been better," Catalina told the Time Magazine of her success in Anaheim. "My goal for the Olympics is gold!" said Catalina simply. "I am ambitious and I usually accomplish what I wish for." That was in 2003, and if you looked carefully then, you would've seen the faint glimpse in her eyes, and from that moment on, there was absolutely no stopping her. Catalina quickly emerged from the 2004 European Championships with three gold medals, one in the team event plus two individual events, balance beam floor. No other female gymnast won as many golds, and no one beat her winning scores on beam (9.725) and floor (9.7) in any other event. Then of course, it came to the Big Event. The Olympics held on Athens, Greece. Many only dream of winning a medal in the Olympics, and it's undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements in ones sporting career. Some even compare a medal in the Olympics to a Nobel Prize in science. And for a mere sixteen-year-old, it may just be, more than life itself. Catalina, though with her excellent record, had many difficulties. Many criticised her lack of perfection in the uneven bars. But eventually this year in Athens she managed to grab three gold medals in her events. She managed to send the crowd into complete awe as she finished the floor and beam activities with grace and perfection of a complete professional. But to give her the credit, she is a professional. As she entered the arena at the age of five, no one was able to stop her, not even her mother. Stubborn as she was, she dragged her mother, a bank cashier in the Romanian seaport of Constanta, to the gym to sign her up for lessons. Five years later, when her mother wanted to pull her out of training, deeming it too strenuous, she threatened to run away from home. Now Catalina is training even harder, cramming up to six hours of exercise into a single day. Her mother would not think again of asking her to leave training, she says. Deep down her mother, Carmen Barbascu, also cherishes her, accomplishments. Catalina's triumph is in a sense also a lifelong ambition of her mother, who was as a young woman forced to give up her own dreams of gymnastic success to focus on her education. In an interview for the Time Europe magazine, which was held before the Olympics, she told that "if ever by chance my daughter wins, I will cry for a whole week." "Catalina Ponor, was always trying her best," says her Coach, Matei Stanei, a former competitive gymnast who trained Catalina for 11 years, "After two years of training, I realised that she had what it took to be a gymnast. After five years, I told everybody that she would become the leader of the Romanian team." But this is but a mere remark concerning Catalina, as she was compared by most critics in the field, as the next Nadia Comaneci. Catalina who was overwhelmed by the fact that she was actually compared to the legendary Nadia Comaneci- who at the age of 14, revolutionised the sport by scoring the first-ever perfect 10.00 on the uneven bars, capturing hearts all over the world and launching an era of child gymnastics stars - commented that "I have a picture of her in my head and I want to become just like her." When asked about Catalina from Nadia Comaneci, she spoke with utmost delight. "I really like Catalina," she said, adding "She is a great athlete. She is pretty, has a great personality - simply everything." There's nothing better than getting a compliment in that fashion from the legend herself. Charming as she is, the 5'1'' princess could only blush and smile at the comment. Catalina may just be the usual stubborn, ambitious seventeen year old, but she was hailed as the "world's greatest" in Ahtens just a week ago. And presently she's not willing to stop there. It will take a long time for her to relax and look back at the things she would do. For now, she may be compared to the great Nadia Comaneci, but she would probably not stop until she's conquered the whole world. |
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