Hobbies
Cars. (oradesibiu.ro, 22 Sep 2022)
Occupation
Athlete
Education
Sports Physiology - National Academy of Physical Education and Sport [UNEFS]: Bucharest, ROU
Spoken languages
English, Romanian
Club
CS Dinamo Bucuresti: Romania
Coach
Marius Berbecar [national], ROU
International senior debut
2012
Injuries
He suffered a right shoulder injury three weeks prior to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro due to over training. He was still able to compete at the Games but the problem forced him to reduce the difficulty of his exercises. He had surgery in November 2016 and his rehabilitation took one month. (lead.ro, 02 Apr 2017)
He missed most of 2011 after taking a break to recover from an old injury. (fangymnastics.com, 09 Apr 2012)
Start sporting career
He took up gymnastics at age four under coaches Ciprian Baias and Carmen Rosianu in Sibiu, Romania.
Reason for taking up the sport
He was selected to try the sport while he was in pre-school. At age 13 he was chosen for the national junior team and began taking part in international competitions. "When I entered the gym for the first time, I cried, it was a completely new place, there were a lot of children and many coaches, but after a few days, I slowly integrated myself, I started to like it. This sport has made me into the man I am today."
Milestones
He became the first Romanian athlete from any sport to win gold at the Youth Olympic Games by claiming victory on rings at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. (SportsDeskOnline, 22 Oct 2018; fangymnastics.com, 09 Apr 2012)
Ambitions
To win a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (evz.ro, 23 Mar 2022)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Placing sixth on parallel bars at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (evz.ro, 23 Mar 2022; lead.ro, 02 Apr 2017)
Hero / Idol
Romanian gymnasts Marius Urzica, Marian Dragulescu and Ioan Suciu. (lead.ro, 02 Apr 2017)
Philosophy / Motto
"Never a failure. Always a lesson." (Facebook page, 28 Jul 2022)
Additional information
BREAK AND RETURN
In 2021 he took a one-year break from competition. He returned at the World Challenge Cup event in Koper, Slovenia, in June 2022. (agerpres.ro, 18 Jun 2022)
NAMED ELEMENT
In December 2017 'The Muntean' was added to the Code of Points for the parallel bars by the International Gymnastics Federation [FIG]. The element, first performed by him at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal, QC, Canada, involves a front uprise and straddled cut backward to hang and has a 'C' value. (fig-gymnastics.com, 15 Dec 2017)
Last update : 2024-07-22
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