Aurelia Dobre: Golden Girl
Photo by Matthew Barber.
After all the current Romanian gymnast biographys, I thought that it'll be nice to have a biography that's about the greatness of the pass. Do enjoy this excusive bio by Jeniffer Fresco along with Aurelia's FX music Bamboleo.
Aurelia. The name means "golden" and was a prophetic choice for this Romanian gymnast, who became World Champion in 1987.
I first saw Aurelia Dobre in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Although I was a gymnast, I did not know much about top gymnasts, as there was little television coverage of it Hong Kong, where I lived. So I was eager to watch and videotape the Olympics.
I was spellbound when I saw Aurelia perform her optional beam exercise. The originality of her routine (aerial walkover to sit mount, shoulder turns, aerial cartwheel-back handspring-layout stepout){according to one of the fan, the pass is whip-flic-flic-tucked full-in back-out. Since I've never seen her perform thus I cannot determine which is right, any third opinion?} was refreshing to see. Her grace, style, and nonchalant attitude caught my eye. She made gymnastics look easy.
Although she did not win in Seoul (a badly injured right knee was held to blame by the media) she did place a respectable sixth.
And her ambition? In TIME magazine, Aurelia was quoted as having said "When I was a child, I wanted to be like Nadia. I want other girls to want to be like Aurelia" I certainly did.