Maria Holbura and Marian Dragulescu
got qualification at the World Championships held in Stuttgart in
October. Holbura qualified for the individual all-round event, while
Dragulescu for the vault competition.
Dragulescu stands most chances to win
a medal as he came in fourth in Stuttgart, missing the podium by a
small margin. The prestigious competition next year will be the fifth
Olympics in the career of Marian Dragulescu who is going to turn 40.
In an interview with Agerpress news
agency, the Romanian athlete confessed that he can no longer train as
intensely as 20 years ago but his training now relies on increased
effectiveness and attention to details. The gymnast also believes his
training is much more challenging from the psychological point of
view and that he spends more time studying video recordings of his
performances. ‘Luck is part of the game’ Dragulescu says
referring to the landing, a part, for which in his opinion one cannot
train enough, the same source reports.
Marian
Dragulescu is Romania’s best gymnast at the moment. He was born on
18th December 1980 in Bucharest and obtained his first
title at the European Under Twenty-one Championship held in Saint
Petersburg 1998, when he came first in the pommel horse event.
He
made his debut in major international competitions a year later at
the World Championship in Tianjin, China, where he obtained the
fourth position in the vault event. His
prize closet includes three Olympic medals, one silver and two
bronze; he obtained both in Athens 2004.
Dragulescu
has also won 10 medals in World Championships, eight gold and two
silver. Out of the 18 medals he obtained in European championships,
ten are gold, six silver and two bronze. The only medal he lacks is
the Olympic gold. In 2005 and 2009 Marian Dragulescu was designated
the best Romanian athlete of the year. Also worth noting is the
existence of a vault exercise that bears his name.
(translated
by bill)