Nickname
Black Lace, Cat (libertatea.ro, 20 Aug 2017)
Occupation
Athlete, Fitness Instructor
Education
Physical Education - University of Craiova: Romania
Spoken languages
English, Romanian, Spanish
Club
Farul Constanta: Romania
Coach
Matei Stanei [club]; Nicolae Forminte [national]
International senior debut
2002
Injuries
She suffered an incomplete tear in the calf muscle connected to the Achilles tendon in September 2015, which forced her to miss the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. (internationalgymnast.com, 13 Oct 2015)
She underwent minor heart surgery in 2011 to fix a birth defect. (vavel.com, 25 Sep 2015)
Start sporting career
She took up gymnastics at age four.
Reason for taking up the sport
She was passing a gym with her grandmother and asked if she could go inside to look around.
Ambitions
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (libertatea.ro, 20 Aug 2017)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning three gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and claiming gold in beam in front of a home crowd at the 2017 European Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. (libertatea.ro, 20 Aug 2017)
Philosophy / Motto
"A champion will always stay a champion, no matter what." (Instagram profile, 11 Apr 2016)
Awards
She was Romania's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (ueg.org, 20 Dec 2016)
Additional information
RETIREMENTS AND COMEBACKS
She retired due to knee problems after winning the gold medal on beam at the 2006 European Championships, but in the following year she returned to competition and helped Romania claim bronze in the team competition at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. In December of that year she retired again because of medical concerns. She returned to training in 2011 and made her comeback at the national championships, where she finished with two gold medals and one silver medal. She retired for a third time after the 2012 Olympic Games in London, before announcing her return to elite gymnastics in March 2015. However, due to injury and eligibility issues, she did not compete in an international competition until March 2016. (agerpres.ro, 26 Mar 2016; wogymnast.com, 11 Mar 2015; olympictalk.nbcsports.com, 11 Mar 2015; universalsports.com, 06 Apr 2011)
OCCUPATION
She runs Catalina Ponor Body-Fit, a fitness company based in Constanta, Romania. (Facebook profile, 29 Apr 2017)
Last update : 2024-07-22
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