Larisa Iordache
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Larisa Andreea Iordache (; born 19 June 1996) is a
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
former
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 ...
. She represented Romania at the 2012 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal with the team, and at the
2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
. The Romanian press referred to Iordache as "The New
Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In many Slavic languages, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope": Ukrainia ...
" as early as 2008, when she was 12, due to her skills and potential. In her first year of competition as a senior, Iordache won two gold medals at the 2012 European Championships, with her team and on
floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, considered an apparatus. The floor exercise (English abbreviation FX) is the event performed on the floor, in both women's and men's artistic gymnastics (WAG and MAG). The same flo ...
. She then won a bronze medal at the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in the team competition. Iordache is the 2013 World bronze medalist on floor exercise, the 2014 World silver medalist in the all-around and on floor exercise, and the 2015 World bronze medalist in the all-around. Iordache was the 2013 European champion on beam, and the most successful gymnast at the 2014 European Championships, winning gold with her team and as an individual on floor exercise, silver on
balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. The apparatus and the event are sometimes simply called "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is BB. The bal ...
, and bronze on
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...
. She won bronze on beam at the 2017 European Championships, held in her home country in
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
. In 2020, she came back from a three-year break to win gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2020 European Championships, along with a silver with her team and as an individual on vault. Overall, Iordache has won sixteen medals at the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
, making her the second most decorated gymnast at the European level behind
Svetlana Khorkina Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina (; born 19 January 1979) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed in three Summer Olympics: 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics, and 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career, Khorkina won seven Oly ...
. She is also a twelve-time gold medalist in the
World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
and the 2017 Universiade champion in the all-around and on floor exercise.


Early life

Iordache was born in
Bucharest, Romania 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 ...
, where she still lives today. Her mother, Adriana Iordache, was a handball player, and her father played football. She has an older brother named Răzvan who also plays football. Iordache was introduced to gymnastics after being spotted rollerblading by her first coach, Mariana Câmpeanu-Silişteanu. Câmpeanu-Silişteanu asked Iordache's mother to put her into gymnastics classes, and although her mother was initially reluctant, Iordache began gymnastics at the age of five. When explaining how she began gymnastics, Iordache stated, "I think âmpeanu-Silişteanunoticed the speed and the energy and that impressed her. I didn't choose gymnastics – it chose me. It just happened. I am very glad to have got so far." She also said that on her first day of training, she was too afraid to go into the gym, but after three days, she went into the gym and then she fell in love with gymnastics. Iordache began her gymnastics training at CSS Dinamo Club in Bucharest. She became a member of the junior national team in 2008, and she was coached by Ramona Micu, Adela Popa, Lacramioara Moldovan, and Claudiu Moldovan. In 2008, she began receiving press attention in Romania comparing her to
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 ...
, the 1976 Olympic all-around champion. Iordache later said of the comparison that "I feel honored to be compared to Nadia, but every gymnast has her own qualities and every gymnast is good enough on her own and doesn't have to be compared to anyone."


Junior career

Iordache made her junior international debut at the 2009 Top Gym Trophy in
Charleroi, Belgium Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...
. She won a bronze medal in the team event with
Diana Bulimar Diana Laura Bulimar (; born 22 August 1995) is a Romanian artistic gymnast and a 2-time European Champion with Romania. She was part of the Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the bronze medal. Junior career 2010 In April, Bul ...
and Slovenian gymnasts Rebeka Sarec and Tatjana Holeczek. Individually, she won a gold medal in the all-around and on the balance beam.


2010

Iordache's first major international competition was the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
in
Birmingham, United Kingdom Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. She contributed an all-around
score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
of 55.550 toward the Romanian team's second-place finish behind Russia. Iordache won the bronze medal in the all-around final behind Russians
Viktoria Komova Viktoria Aleksandrovna Komova (; born 30 January 1995) is a retired Russians, Russian artistic gymnast. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won silver medals in the all-around and team events at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympics. S ...
and
Anastasia Grishina Anastasia Nikolayevna Grishina () (born 16 January 1996) is a former Russian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She was a member of the silver medal winning Russian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the 2013 European Artistic Gymnastics ...
, with a score of 55.675. In the event finals, she placed fourth on vault, scoring 13.862, second on balance beam scoring 14.575, and tied first on floor with Anastasia Grishina, scoring 14.275. In September, Iordache competed at the Romanian Championships in
Reșița Reșița (; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraș-Severin County. It is located in the Banat region. The city had a population of 58,393 in 2021. It administers six villages: Câlnic (''Kölnök''), Cuptoare (''Kupt ...
. She won the all around competition with a score of 58.400, nearly four points ahead of second-place teammate
Diana Bulimar Diana Laura Bulimar (; born 22 August 1995) is a Romanian artistic gymnast and a 2-time European Champion with Romania. She was part of the Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the bronze medal. Junior career 2010 In April, Bul ...
. Then in October, she competed at the Schiltigheim International in Schiltigheim, France. She won the all-around final with a score of 58.000. She placed second on vault behind France's Elodie Perez scoring 14.350, first on
uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
, scoring 14.250, first on balance beam scoring 14.900, and first on floor scoring 14.500.


2011

In May, Iordache competed as a guest at the French Team Championships, held in
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. She contributed an all-around score of 58.800 towards Alliance Dijon's first-place finish. The Alliance Dijon team included Iordache, Daniela Andrei, and
Raluca Haidu Raluca Haidu (born 20 November 1994 in Petroşani, Romania) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She is a European gold (2012) and bronze (2010) medallist with the team. Individually, she is a European bronze medallist on beam.
from Romania, and French gymnasts Sophia Serseri, Laurie Antoniazzi, and Julie Roemer. Then in June, Iordache competed at the Gym Festival in
Trnava, Slovakia Trnava (, , ; , also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic arc ...
, where 29 gymnasts from nine countries competed. She won the all-around final with a score of 59.500, and she finished nearly two points ahead of two-time Olympian
Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...
. In the event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 14.250, first on balance beam scoring 15.600, and first on floor exercise scoring 14.850. Later that month, she competed in an international meet against Great Britain in
Lilleshall Lilleshall is a village and civil parish in the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England. It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Wrekin constituency. There is one school in the centre of the village. ...
. The Romanian team finished in first, and they outscored the British on every event except the uneven bars. Iordache won the all-around title with a score of 58.300, nearly five points ahead of British silver medalist Gabby Jupp. In July, Iordache competed at the
2011 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival The 2011 European Youth Olympic Festival, European Youth Summer Olympic Festival was held in Trabzon, Turkey, between 23 and 29 July 2011. Sports There were nine sports at the 2011 Festival, two branches, table tennis and water polo, less than c ...
in Trabzon, Turkey. She contributed an all around score of 57.800 towards the Romanian team's second-place finish behind Italy. Iordache won the all-around final with a score of 57.550, over two points ahead of the second-place finisher
Erika Fasana Erika Fasana (born 17 February 1996) is an Italian artistic gymnast. She competed for her country at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the first Italian gymnast to accomplish the "Chusovitina" on floor (full twisting ...
. In the event finals, she placed second on vault scoring 14.225, second on uneven bars, scoring 13.475, first on balance beam, scoring 15.000, and first on floor exercise, scoring 14.275.


Senior career


2012

Iordache became age eligible for senior international competition in 2012. At the beginning of March, Iordache competed at the
American Cup The American Football Association Challenge Cup (also known as the American Association Cup or simply American Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by t ...
in New York City, United States. She placed third in the all-around behind Americans
Jordyn Wieber Jordyn Marie Wieber Brooks ( Wieber; born July 12, 1995) is an American former artistic gymnast and current gymnastics coach. Since April 2019, she has been the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. Wieber began competing in ...
and
Aly Raisman Alexandra Rose Raisman (born May 25, 1994) is an American retired artistic gymnast and two-time Olympian. She was captain of both the 2012 " Fierce Five" and 2016 " Final Five" U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics teams, which won their respective ...
with a score of 59.332. Then at the end of March, she competed at the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
in Doha, Qatar. She placed fourth in the uneven bars final with a score of 14.525. In April, Iordache competed at an international meet against France in Cholet, France. She helped Romania win the team competition, and individually, she won the all-around with a score of 60.150. Later that month, she competed at an international meet against Germany and the United Kingdom in
Ulm, Germany Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...
. She helped Romania win the team competition, and individually, she won the all-around with a score of 59.750. In May, Iordache competed at the 2012 European Championships in Brussels, Belgium. She contributed an all-around score of 58.757 toward the Romanian team's first-place finish. In the event finals, she placed second on the balance beam behind teammate
Cătălina Ponor Cătălina Ponor (; born 20 August 1987) is a Romanian former Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who competed at three Summer Olympic Games: 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016. She won three ...
with a score of 15.133 and first on the floor exercise with a score of 15.233. At the beginning of July, she competed at an international meet against France, Germany, and Italy in her hometown, Bucharest. Romania won the team competition, and individually, she won the all-around with a score of 60.850.


London Olympics

At the end of July, Iordache represented
Romania at the 2012 Summer Olympics Romania competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed at the Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1924, missing only two editions, including the 1948 Summer Olympics. Despite be ...
alongside teammates Diana Bulimar,
Diana Chelaru Diana Maria Chelaru (; born 15 August 1993) is a Romanian artistic gymnast who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Early gymnastics career Chelaru started to train for gymnastics at CSS Oneşti Club with coaches Elena Dragomir, Octavian Teod ...
,
Sandra Izbașa Sandra Raluca Izbașa (; born 18 June 1990) is a retired artistic gymnast from Romania. She is a double Olympic champion, having won the floor event at the 2008 Olympics and vault at the 2012 Olympics. She is also a winner of two Olympic bronz ...
, and Cătălina Ponor. Prior to the competition, she developed
plantar fasciitis Plantar fasciitis or plantar heel pain is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue that supports the Arches of the foot, arch of the foot. It results in pain in the heel and Sole (foot), bottom of the foot that is usuall ...
in her left foot, which caused severe pain. Her coach,
Mariana Bitang Mariana Bitang (born August 3, 1962, in Râmnicu Sărat) is a coach for the Romanian national women's artistic gymnastics team. Along with her partner, Octavian Bellu, she helped Romania win five consecutive team gold medals at the World Champion ...
said about Iordache's condition prior to the Olympics, "We don't know what will happen — it depends how things go after this. If she's fine, she will do all events to qualify to the all-around final. It's hard to say now." During podium training, Iordache only performed full routines on the uneven bars and the balance beam. Mariana Bitang explained that there was a 50–50 chance of whether she would be able to compete in all four events. Iordache did compete in all four events in the qualification round, and she helped Romania finish fourth. Individually, she qualified for the all-around final in ninth place with a score of 57.800. In the team final, she contributed scores of 14.800 on vault, 13.766 on uneven bars, and 15.300 on balance beam toward the Romanian team's third-place finish behind Russia and the United States. After the team final, Iordache said on Romania's performance, "You always want to do better, but any Olympic medal is important for a team. We are happy." She placed ninth in the all around final with a score of 57.965 and sixth in the balance beam final with a score of 14.200. The Olympics were Iordache's last competition of the season.


2013

At the 2013 Doha World Cup, Iordache placed second in the vault final behind Phan Thị Hà Thanh with a score of 14.675, and seventh in the uneven bars final with a score of 13.325. She also placed first in the balance beam final ahead of Zeng Siqi and Gabrielle Jupp with a score of 15.500, and second in the floor exercise final behind
Diana Bulimar Diana Laura Bulimar (; born 22 August 1995) is a Romanian artistic gymnast and a 2-time European Champion with Romania. She was part of the Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the bronze medal. Junior career 2010 In April, Bul ...
with a score of 14.425. At the 2013 European Championships in Moscow, Iordache qualified first into the all-around final and the balance beam final, second to the floor exercise final, and fourth to vault final. In the all-around final, she scored 14.833 on beam, 14.866 on floor exercise, 14.900 on vault, and 13.833 on uneven bars. She won the silver medal behind
Aliya Mustafina Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (; born 30 September 1994) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. She was the 2010 all-around world champion, the 2013 European all around champion, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic uneven bars champion and a seven-time ...
of Russia. In the vault final, she tied with Dutch gymnast Noël van Klaveren for the silver medal with a score of 14.466. Additionally, she won the silver medal in the floor exercise final behind Russia's
Ksenia Afanasyeva Ksenia Dmitrievna Afanasyeva (; born 13 September 1991) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She is the 2011 world champion on Floor (gymnastics), floor exercise, the 2013 ...
and the gold medal in the balance beam final. Then at the 2013 Anadia World Cup, Iordache won the gold medal on the balance beam and on the floor exercise. In October, Iordache competed at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. In the all-around final, she finished fourth due to a fall from the balance beam on a back handspring full twist. She fell on the same skill in the balance beam final and scored 13.933 for seventh place. Then, in the floor exercise final, she won the bronze medal behind American
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
and Italian
Vanessa Ferrari Vanessa Ferrari (born 10 November 1990) is a retired Italian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She was the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2006 World All-Around Champion and competed for Italy at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008, ...
. After the World Championships, Iordache competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial in
Morges, Switzerland Morges (; , Plurale tantum, plural, probably Ablative (Latin), ablative, else dative; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud and the seat of the Morges District, distri ...
where she won the gold medal in the all-around. She then competed at the Swiss Cup, which is a team competition where each country is represented by one female and one male gymnast. With her teammate
Andrei Muntean Andrei Vasile Muntean (born 30 January 1993) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. He represented Romania at the 2016 Summer Olympics and placed sixth on the Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's parallel bars, parallel bars. He is the Gymn ...
, Romania won the gold medal ahead of Germany, Switzerland, and Ukraine. She competed at the Elite Gym Massilia in
Marseille, France Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, ...
where she won the gold medal in the all-around, the silver medal on vault behind Russia's
Alla Sosnitskaya Alla Arkadievna Sosnitskaya (, born 10 April 1997) is a Russian artistic gymnast. She won team bronze medals at the 2014 World and European Championships. Career Sosnitskaya is coached by Marina Ulyankina, who also coaches fellow national team ...
, and the gold medal on both balance beam and floor exercise. Then, she won the silver medal in the all-around at the Stuttgart World Cup behind American Elizabeth Price. Her last competition of the season was the Glasgow World Cup where she won the gold medal in the all-around.


2014

In March, Iordache competed at the Doha World Cup where she won gold on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. Then in April, she helped her team win gold at the France-Romania-Belgium Tri-Friendly meet. She had the highest scores of the competition on every apparatus, and she won the all-around title by three points over teammate Diana Bulimar. At the 2014 European Championships, Iordache was the most decorated gymnast with four medals. She was the only gymnast to qualify for all four apparatus finals. Then in the team finals, the Romanian team of Iordache, Diana Bulimar,
Andreea Munteanu Andreea Eugenia Munteanu (; born 29 May 1998) is a Romanian retired Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is a two-time European champion, with a team title in 2014 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2014 and a balance bea ...
,
Ștefania Stănilă Alina Ștefania Stănilă (born 27 December 1997) is a retired Romanian 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 ...
, and
Silvia Zarzu Silvia Andreea Zarzu (born 16 December 1998) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast. She was part of the Romanian team that won the gold medal in the team event at the 2014 European Championships and placed fourth at the 2014 World Championshi ...
won the gold medal. In the event finals, she won the bronze medal on vault, placed sixth on uneven bars, won the silver medal on balance beam behind
Maria Kharenkova Maria Aleksandrovna Kharenkova (; born 29 October 1998) is a retired Russian-Georgian artistic gymnast. She is the 2014 European champion on the balance beam. Gymnastics career 2011 In April, Kharenkova competed at the Russian Championships i ...
, and tied for the gold medal on floor exercise with
Vanessa Ferrari Vanessa Ferrari (born 10 November 1990) is a retired Italian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She was the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2006 World All-Around Champion and competed for Italy at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008, ...
. The Romanian National Championships were held at the end of August, and Iordache won four of the five gold medals. She won the all-around competition with 59.650, beating second-place finisher Ștefania Stănilă by nearly four points. The only gold she did not win was on the balance beam, where
Andreea Munteanu Andreea Eugenia Munteanu (; born 29 May 1998) is a Romanian retired Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is a two-time European champion, with a team title in 2014 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2014 and a balance bea ...
won gold and Iordache took silver. In September, she competed at the Switzerland-Germany-Romania Tri-Friendly meet in Obersiggenthal, Switzerland, and the Romanian team finished second behind Germany. She won the all-around competition, finishing nearly two points ahead of silver medalist
Giulia Steingruber Giulia Steingruber (born 24 March 1994) is a Swiss retired Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2017 World bronze medalist on Vaul ...
. In October, Iordache was named to the Romanian team for the 2014 World Championships in
Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...
, China. After the team finished seventh in the
qualification round Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
, she led the largely inexperienced Romanian team to a fourth-place finish. Individually, she won a silver medal in the all-around competition, behind
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
and ahead of
Kyla Ross Kyla Briana Ross Rittman ( Ross, born October 24, 1996) is an American retired artistic gymnast and current assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. She is the first female gymnast to win NCAA, World, and Olympic championsh ...
. Afterwards, she said, "It is a good result. I am quite pleased with what I did today, but that does not mean I can not do even better. Everything is possible at any one competition. Today I did not get gold but next time there is always a chance." In the balance beam final, she fell on her back handspring tuck full series and finished fifth. Later that day, she won the silver medal in the floor exercise final behind Simone Biles. At the end of the World Championships, she said of her performance and her future,
After I lost on beam, it was so difficult for me to come back. It was fortunate that I came back well on floor, and I was happy to finally perform my routine without mistakes. I want to practice and practice so I can hit all of my elements and add difficulty. Time will tell if I am able to someday beat imone Biles It's hard to say what the future will bring. Next year is next year ... we will see then. But I will try my best.
After the World Championships, she competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial, placing second in the all-around behind Russian
Daria Spiridonova Daria Sergeyevna Nagornaya (née Spiridonova ; born 8 July 1998) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. Primarily an uneven bars specialist, she is the 2015 World Champion, the 2015 European Champion, the 2014 World bronze medalist, and a fou ...
. She then competed at the Swiss Cup with Marius Berbecar, and they placed seventh. She then competed in the Stuttgart and Glasgow
World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
. In
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, she won the all-around title with a score of 59.766 ahead of
Jessica López Jessica Brizeida López Arocha (born January 22, 1986) is a Venezuelan artistic gymnast who competes for the Venezuela national team. She competed at the 2008, the 2012 and the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she qualified to the uneven bars final, ...
and
Kim Bùi Kim Bui (born 20 January 1989) is a retired German artistic gymnast. She represented Germany at the Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012, Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016, and Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Oly ...
. She received the highest score on every event except the uneven bars. In
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Iordache posted the highest score on every event to take home the all-around gold with 59.232. She finished nearly three points ahead of silver medalist
Ellie Black Elsabeth Ann Black (born September 8, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is a four-time Olympian, having represented her country at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic games. She is the 2017 World all-around silver medallist, makin ...
.


2015

Iordache was scheduled to compete at the
World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
in Doha and Cottbus, but she withdrew due to an ankle injury. She later withdrew from the 2015 European Championships due to the same injury. She also had to skip the
2015 European Games The 1st European Games (), also known as the 2015 European Games or Baku 2015 (), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Europe ...
due to school exams. Iordache returned to competition on 12 September at the Romania-France Friendly competition, winning the all-around gold with a total score of 58.150 and helping Romania to the team gold. At the Romanian National Championships, Iordache won gold with her club team and in the all-around with a score of 60.900. She also won gold on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. In October, Iordache competed at the
Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...
cup against Italy, Belgium, and Spain. The Romanian team of Iordache, Diana Bulimar, Ana Maria Ocolişan,
Laura Jurca Laura Jurca (born 14 September 1999, in Munich) is a Romanians, Romanian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast and a member of Romania's women's artistic gymnastics team. She is the 2014 European junior all-around silver medalist. She also repre ...
, Silvia Zarzu, and
Andreea Iridon Andreea Maria Iridon (born 23 November 1999 in Tilișca) is a former Romanian artistic gymnast. She won a silver on balance beam and a bronze on uneven bars at the 2015 European Games. At the 2014 Junior European Championships Iridon won silver ...
won the gold medal, and Iordache won the all-around with a 59.750. Iordache was selected to compete at the 2015 World Championships along with Diana Bulimar, Ana Maria Ocolişan, Laura Jurca, Silvia Zarzu, and
Cătălina Ponor Cătălina Ponor (; born 20 August 1987) is a Romanian former Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who competed at three Summer Olympic Games: 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016. She won three ...
. However, Ponor withdrew after having surgery, and the alternate Andreea Iridon was put in. On the day before the
qualification round Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
, Ocolisan injured her ankle and could not compete. In the qualification round, Iordache scored a disappointing 55.698 in the all-around after downgrading her floor routine and falling off the uneven bars and balance beam. The Romanian team finished in thirteenth place, meaning that they did not directly qualify for the
2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
. Their performance was described as a meltdown, as everyone except Jurca fell off the uneven bars and team members had several falls off the balance beam. Iordache and her teammates were seen crying afterwards. Iordache finished sixteenth all-around in the qualification round, but in the all-around final, she won the bronze medal, with a score of 59.107 behind
Gabby Douglas Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all-around champion and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. She was a member of the gold-winning teams at both the ...
and
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
. After winning the bronze medal in the all-around she explained, "I feel much better now than Friday, but I want much more, all the time. It was so hard for me. But I have my coach, my parents, my girls and my team with me. Today was good for me. It was so good for me." After the World Championships, Iordache competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial, where she won the all-around gold medal ahead of
Pauline Schäfer Pauline Sieglinde Schäfer-Betz or Pauline Schäfer (born 4 January 1997) is a German Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who represented Germany at the Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016, Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020, ...
from Germany and Romanian teammate Diana Bulimar. Then at the Swiss Cup, she competed with Marius Berbecar, and they won the silver medal behind Ukraine.


2016

In March, Iordache fractured her fourth metacarpal bone during balance beam training and had to have surgery. She missed the Olympic Test Event in April, and Romania failed to qualify a full team to the Olympics. In May, Iordache's injury required another operation, and Romanian newspapers began reporting that
Cătălina Ponor Cătălina Ponor (; born 20 August 1987) is a Romanian former Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who competed at three Summer Olympic Games: 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016. She won three ...
would be sent to the Olympic Games instead of Iordache, but this was not initially confirmed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. She returned to competition in July at the National Championships, and she competed despite suffering from a concussion during training. She won the gold medal in the all-around on the uneven bars, and the silver medal on the balance beam behind Ponor. She hurt her knee on the dismount of her uneven bars routine, and after competing in the balance beam final, she withdrew from the floor exercise final. Ponor was then named the Olympic flag-bearer for Romania, essentially confirming the Ponor would compete instead of Iordache despite the Romanian Gymnastics Federation stating that both of them would travel to Rio. Iordache then competed at a friendly meet against France, and the Romanian team finished second. She tied for the silver medal in the all-around with
Louise Vanhille Louise Vanhille (born 6 November 1998) is a retired French female artistic gymnast. She participated at the 2015 and 2018 World Championships. She represented France at the 2016 Summer Olympics where the French team finished eleventh, and Vanhil ...
. She then competed at a friendly meet in
Chemnitz, Germany Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, and Dresden. ...
where she finished ninth in the all-around. Iordache was officially named the alternate for the Olympic Games. Following the Olympic Games, she confirmed that she would continue to compete.


2017

Iordache opened her season by competing at the Sainté Gym Cup in Saint-Étienne, France. She only competed on the uneven bars, where she won the gold medal, and the balance beam, where she won the silver medal. She was selected for the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
in
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
along with first-year seniors Olivia Cîmpian and
Ioana Crișan Ioana Crișan (born ) is a Romanian female artistic gymnast. At the 2016 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships The European Women's Gymnastics Championships are an artistic championships for female gymnasts from European countries ...
, and London Olympic teammate
Cătălina Ponor Cătălina Ponor (; born 20 August 1987) is a Romanian former Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who competed at three Summer Olympic Games: 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016. She won three ...
. She was not yet ready to compete in the all-around, competing only on uneven bars and balance beam, and she qualified first into balance beam finals. In the balance beam final, she won the bronze medal, with Ponor winning gold and
Eythora Thorsdottir Eythora Elisabet Thorsdottir (; born 10 August 1998) is a Dutch artistic gymnast. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she finished ninth in the individual all-around. At the 2017 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2017 Europe ...
winning silver. In May, Iordache competed at the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
held in
Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...
. She decided to perform only on the balance beam and uneven bars. Iordache won gold in both finals, with a score of 13.800 on the uneven bars and a 14.150 on the balance beam. She was then selected to represent Romania at the 2017 Summer Universiade. She competed in the all-around for the first time of the year, and she
qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
for the all-around final in second place behind
Ellie Black Elsabeth Ann Black (born September 8, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is a four-time Olympian, having represented her country at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic games. She is the 2017 World all-around silver medallist, makin ...
. In the all-around final, she won the gold medal with a total score of 56.750. In the event finals, she placed fifth on the uneven bars, won the bronze medal on the balance beam behind Black and
Natsumi Sasada is a Japanese artistic gymnast. She was part of the silver medalling team at the 2015 Summer Universiade where she also won a bronze medal in the individual all-around competition. Sasada also competed for Japan in the first ever Youth Olympic ...
, and won the gold medal on the floor exercise. Then at the Romanian Championships, Iordache won the gold medal in the all-around by five-and-a-half points over
Denisa Golgotă Denisa Golgotă (born 8 March 2002) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She won two medals at the 2018 European Championships – a silver on floor exercise and a bronze on vault. Personal life Denisa Golgotă was born on 8 March 2002 in Alimpeșt ...
. She also won the gold medal on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. She then competed at the Paris World Cup where she placed fourth on the uneven bars, won the gold on the balance beam, and won the silver on the floor exercise behind
Claudia Fragapane Claudia Fragapane (born 24 October 1997) is a retired British artistic gymnast. She came to prominence at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she was the first English woman to win four gold medals in a single Games since 1930. In 2015, Fragapan ...
. In October, Iordache traveled to
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
for the 2017 World Championships but suffered an Achilles tendon tear during the warm-ups for the qualification round. She then flew back to Romania and had surgery. She had a second surgery on her Achilles tendon a month and a half later.


2018–2019

In June 2018, Iordache told the Romanian media that her recovery has been going slowly and that there is a 50% chance of her returning to gymnastics. In September 2018, Larisa went to Dr. Weinstable in Vienna, Austria, with the help of former Romanian head coaches, Mariana Bitang and Octavian Bellu, to have her third surgery on her Achilles tendon. In January 2019, she had a final examination on her Achilles tendon by Dr. Weinstable in Vienna. She was told that she was able to begin training at full capacity, and Iordache officially announced her comeback to elite gymnastics.


2020

In late October 2020, Iordache reported on Twitter that she had tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, forcing her to forego a verification meet that would have been her first competition in three years. Her symptoms were mild. In November, Iordache made her comeback debut at the Romanian National Championships. She had the fourth-highest all-around score with a 52.234, just over half a point behind all-around bronze medalist
Ioana Stănciulescu Ioana Andreea Stănciulescu (born 18 February 2004) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She competed as a junior from 2017 to 2019. Stănciulescu won the floor exercise at the 2018 European Championships. She was the 2019 European Youth Olympic Fest ...
. However, because she was not competing for her club team and was instead competing as an individual, she was not allowed to be ranked. She still competed in the uneven bars and balance beam finals, and had she been eligible, she would have won gold on uneven bars and silver on balance beam. Shortly thereafter she was named to Romania's team for the 2020 European Championships. At the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
, the Romanian team of Iordache,
Antonia Duță Irina Antonia Duţă (born 8 October 2004) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She was a member of the Romanian teams who competed at the inaugural Junior World Championships and who won silver at the 2020 European Championships. Junior career ...
,
Silviana Sfiringu Silviana-Maria Sfiringu-Gheorghe (born 1 September 2004 in Medgidia, Romania) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. During her junior career Sfiringu won the Romanian Junior Championships 3 times (2017, 2018 and 2019). She is a two-time senior nation ...
, Ioana Stănciulescu, and
Daniela Trică Daniela Trică (born 21 June 2004) is a Romanian retired artistic gymnast. She won a silver medal in the team competition at the 2020 European Championships. Gymnastics career Trică competed as a junior from 2017 to 2019. She made her internat ...
won the silver medal behind Ukraine. Iordache won the silver medal on vault behind Hungary's Zsófia Kovács, and she placed fourth on uneven bars. Then, she won the gold medal on both balance beam and floor exercise.


2021

In April 2021, Iordache competed at the 2021 European Championships, which was her last chance to qualify for the
2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
in Tokyo. Despite waking up the morning of the competition with severe abdominal pain and being told by doctors to withdraw, Iordache competed in the qualification round. In the qualification round, she placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 54.698 behind Russians
Angelina Melnikova Angelina Romanovna Melnikova ( rus, Ангели́на Рома́новна Ме́льникова, , ɐnɡʲɪˈlʲinə ˈmʲelʲnʲɪkəvə; born 18 July 2000) is a Russian artistic gymnast. With eleven Olympic and World medals, she is the j ...
,
Viktoria Listunova Viktoria Viktorovna Listunova ( rus, Виктория Викторовна Листунова, , vʲɪˈktorʲɪjə lʲɪstʊˈnovə; born 12 May 2005) is a Russian artistic gymnast. She represented the Russian Olympic Committee athletes at the ...
, and
Vladislava Urazova Vladislava Sergeyevna Urazova ( rus, Владислава Сергеевна Уразова, , vlədʲɪˈslavə sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvnə ʊˈrazəvə; born 14 August 2004) is a Russian artistic gymnast. She represented the Russian Olympic Committee ...
. Because Russia could only earn one Olympic spot at the European Championships, Iordache qualified a nominative spot for the Olympics. She also qualified in first place to the balance beam final, despite a fall, and sixth place in the floor exercise final. She later withdrew from the all-around and event finals due to a kidney infection that required hospitalization. She had to take two weeks off of training once she was released from the hospital. At the end of the European Championships, Iordache was presented with the Shooting Star award from the event's sponsor, SmartScoring, alongside Ireland's
Rhys McClenaghan Rhys Joshua McClenaghan (born 21 July 1999) is an artistic gymnast from Northern Ireland who competes internationally both for Ireland and Northern Ireland. McClenaghan is widely recognised as one of the best pommel horse specialists of his ge ...
. The award is given to a female and a male gymnast who have an exceptional story and are inspirations for future gymnasts. Iordache competed at the Cairo World Challenge Cup in June where she won the gold medal on the balance beam and the bronze medal on the uneven bars behind
Diana Varinska Diana Yevhenivna Varinska (, born 22 March 2001) is a retired Ukraine, Ukrainian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the Gymnastics at the 2019 European Games, 2019 European Games all-around and balance beam bronze medalist. Additionall ...
and
Zója Székely Zója Székely (born 5 May 2003) is a Hungarian artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 European silver medalist on the uneven bars and bronze medalist with the team. She represented Hungary at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Career Székely competed ...
. She was originally going to compete at the FIT Challenge in
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
; however, she withdrew from the competition after her mother died from a long-term illness.


Tokyo Olympics

Iordache qualified to represent
Romania at the 2020 Summer Olympics Romania competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's participation sta ...
alongside her teammate
Maria Holbură Maria Larisa Holbură (born 16 September 2000) is a former Romanian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She represented Romania at the 2020 Summer Olympics and at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2018 and 2019 World Artistic Gy ...
. On 21 July, it was announced that she would only compete on the balance beam due to an ankle injury. She qualified to the balance beam final in fourth place, behind American
Sunisa Lee Sunisa "Suni" Phabsomphou Lee ( ; ; born March 9, 2003) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic individual all-around, all-around gold medalist and ...
and Chinese gymnasts
Tang Xijing Tang Xijing ( zh, s=唐茜靖, p=Táng Xījìng, j=Tong4 Sai1-zing6; born January 3, 2003) is a Chinese artistic gymnast. She is the 2019 World all-around silver medalist, matching Jiang Yuyuan at the 2010 World Championships for the highest ...
and
Guan Chenchen Guan Chenchen ( zh, c=管晨辰, p=Guǎn Chén Chén; born September 25, 2004) is a Chinese former artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion and the 2020 Chinese champion on the balance beam. On the junior level, she was a member of ...
. However, she withdrew from the final due to her ankle injury. In December, Iordache traveled to Vienna to have surgery on her ankle. On 16 December, she announced her retirement from gymnastics on her Instagram account.


Competitive history


See also

* List of Olympic female gymnasts for Romania


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iordache, Larisa 1996 births Articles containing video clips European champions in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Gymnasts from Bucharest Living people Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2017 Summer Universiade Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Olympic gymnasts for Romania Olympic medalists in gymnastics Romanian female artistic gymnasts FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Romania FISU World University Games gold medalists for Romania Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics 21st-century Romanian sportswomen