Elena Leușteanu-Popescu (later Teodorescu, 4 July 1935 – 16 August 2008) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

who competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics. During her career she won three Olympic bronze medals, one world bronze medal and five continental silver medals. She was the first Romanian

to win an individual Olympic medal (in 1956).

Early years

As a teenager Leușteanu showed talents in

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, athletics, cross-country skiing and gymnastics. In 1949 she won a junior national title in athletics triathlon. In 1953, when she was a member of the national athletics team, she had her best results at 5.14 m in the long jump and 1.43 m in the high jump. In 1951 she also became a member of the national gymnastics team.Elena Leustean

Romanian Olympic Committee The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Romanian Olympic Committee () was formed in 1914 in Bucharest. In 2004 it changed its name to ''Romanian Olympic an ...

1954–1956: world championships and Olympic debut

Leușteanu made her debut at the 1954 World Championships in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where she placed 4th with her team, 5th in the individual combined standings, and was a vault finalist. At the

1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the except ...

, Leușteanu led her Romanian team the bronze medal at these games, a first for Romania at any World Championships or Olympics. In the individual combined standings, she tied Olga Tass of Hungary for 4th place, just .100 behind bronze medal position. She qualified for three of the four event finals: vault, where she placed 6th; balance beam, where she placed 6th; and floor exercise, where she became the first Romanian woman to win an individual Olympic gymnastics medal – a bronze.

1957–1960: continued success

The first ever European Artistic Gymnastics Championships for women, held in 1957 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in her native country of Romania, saw Leușteanu win the silver in the individual all-around competition behind Soviet

Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 List of multiple Olympic medalists, individual Olympic medals and four team medals for the Sovie ...

. In the event finals, she collected two more medals in both the uneven bars and floor exercises. In

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

at the 1958 World Championships, competing as Elena Teodorescu, she helped her team to the bronze medal and placed 17th in the all around and was, again, a vault finalist. At the second European Artistic Gymnastics Championships for women, held in 1959 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland, she repeated her 2nd-place all-around finish and qualified to three of the four event finals where she won silver on the uneven bars as she had at the previous European Championships. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, she buttressed her stronger teammate Sonia Iovan, helping their team to the bronze and she was 11th in the individual all around.

Later life

In Leușteanu's 3rd appearance at the European Championships held in 1961 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, she placed 6th in the all-around and qualified to two event finals – uneven bars and floor where she placed 4th and 5th, respectively. In 1964 she was a member of the team representing Romania at the Olympic Games. She placed 6th with the teamGymn-Forum: Results
1964 Olympics Women's team and 20th all around.
1964 Olympics Women's All Around In 2006, at a celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, Leușteanu was the first gymnast to be mentioned and honoured and clips of her performance on the uneven bars were presented. She took part in the celebration, ascending to the podium along with other notable Romanian gymnasts of the past such as

Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score ...

, Daniela Silivaş, and

Lavinia Miloșovici Lavinia Corina Miloșovici (, born 21 October 1976) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast.Jane Perlez (13 July 1995"Romanian Coach Keeps Up the Fight" ''New York Times'' Also known as "Milo" in the gymnastics community, Miloșovici is considere ...

. While her fellow Romanians were at the

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, successfully defending the legacy of Romanian gymnastics she helped to create, Leușteanu died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in mid-August 2008 at the age of 73.Gymnastics medallist Elena Leusteanu dies
thenews.com.pk (19 August 2008)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leusteanu, Elena 1935 births 2008 deaths Romanian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1956 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1960 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Olympic gymnasts for Romania Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Romania Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics 20th-century Romanian sportswomen Sportspeople from Chernivtsi