Cătălina Ponor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cătălina Ponor
Ponor at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Cătălina Ponor
Nickname(s)	Cătă, Black Tulip
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1987-08-20) 20 August 1987 (age 37) Constanța, Romania
Residence	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international elite
Years on national team	2002–07, 2011–12, 2015–17 (ROU)
Club	CS Dinamo București
Head coach(es)	Octavian Bellu
Assistant coach(es)	Sandu Lucian
Former coach(es)	Matei Stanei, Gabriela Dosoftei
Choreographer	Adriana Pop
Music	2004: Gia 2005: Harem 2006: Underground 2007: Dark Angel 2011: Rise 2011–2012: Requiem for a Dream 2012: Fever 2016: Powerful
Retired	30 April 2006 12 December 2007 8 August 2012 25 November 2017
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 1 1 World Championships 0 3 2 European Championships 8 2 3 World Cup Final 1 1 0 FIG World Cup 7 2 0 Total 19 9 6 Representing  Romania Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Team Gold 2004 Athens Balance Beam Gold 2004 Athens Floor Exercise Silver 2012 London Floor Exercise Bronze 2012 London Team World Championships Silver 2003 Anaheim Team Silver 2003 Anaheim Balance Beam Silver 2003 Anaheim Floor Exercise Bronze 2005 Melbourne Balance Beam Bronze 2007 Stuttgart Team World Cup Final Gold 2004 Birmingham Balance Beam Silver 2004 Birmingham Floor Exercise European Championships Gold 2004 Amsterdam Team Gold 2004 Amsterdam Balance Beam Gold 2004 Amsterdam Floor Exercise Gold 2005 Debrecen Balance Beam Gold 2006 Volos Balance Beam Gold 2012 Brussels Team Gold 2012 Brussels Balance Beam Gold 2017 Cluj-Napoca Balance Beam Silver 2006 Volos Team Silver 2012 Brussels Floor Exercise Bronze 2006 Volos Floor Exercise Bronze 2016 Bern Balance Beam Bronze 2016 Bern Floor Exercise

Cătălina Ponor (born August 20, 1987) is a famous Romanian former gymnast. She competed in three Summer Olympic Games: 2004, 2012, and 2016.

Cătălina won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. These were for the balance beam, floor exercise, and as part of the Romanian team. She also won a silver medal on floor and a bronze medal with the team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Throughout her amazing career, she earned many medals at World and European Championships. Cătălina announced her retirement from gymnastics after the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. She won 23 Olympic, World, and European medals in total. More than half of these, 12, were gold medals! In 2022, she was added to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Training

Cătălina Ponor was born in Constanța, Romania. She started gymnastics when she was just four years old. In 2002, national team coaches Octavian Bellu and Mariana Bitang noticed her talent. They invited her to join the Romanian national team.

Her Gymnastics Journey

Starting Strong: 2003–2004

Cătălina first competed internationally at the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The Romanian team won second place. Cătălina herself won silver medals on both the balance beam and floor exercise. Later that year, she won gold on balance beam at a World Cup event in Germany.

In 2004, Cătălina continued to shine. She won more gold and silver medals at World Cup events. In May, she helped Romania win the team competition at the European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She also won gold medals on balance beam and floor.

Olympic Gold in Athens

In August 2004, Cătălina competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She helped the Romanian team win first place. In the individual events, she won gold medals on balance beam and floor. She said winning these medals was "a dream that came true."

Cătălina was the first female gymnast since 1988 to win three gold medals at one Olympics. This showed how incredibly talented she was!

Continuing Success: 2005–2007

In 2005, Cătălina competed at the European Championships in Hungary. She won gold on balance beam. Later that year, she won a bronze medal on beam at the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

In 2006, she won another gold medal on balance beam at the European Championships in Greece. She also won a bronze medal on floor.

In 2007, Cătălina started training with Mariana Bitang again. She felt Bitang was the only coach who could help her reach her best form. Cătălina won gold medals on vault and balance beam at the Romanian National Championships. At the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the Romanian team placed third. Cătălina finished fourth on balance beam.

In December 2007, Cătălina decided to retire due to injuries.

A Comeback: 2011

In March 2011, Cătălina began training with the Romanian national team again. Her former coaches, Octavian Bellu and Mariana Bitang, had also returned.

In August, Cătălina had a small medical procedure for a heart issue. She was able to return to training quickly. Later that month, she won silver on balance beam and bronze on floor at the Romanian National Championships.

In October, Cătălina competed at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She helped the Romanian team finish in fourth place.

Road to London: 2012

In March 2012, Cătălina won gold medals on balance beam and floor at a World Cup event in Qatar. She said she wanted to achieve what she did in 2004.

In May, Cătălina competed at the 2012 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She helped the Romanian team win first place. She also won gold on balance beam and silver on floor. Cătălina has won the most balance beam titles at the European Championships, with wins in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012, and 2017.

London Olympics

Ponor with the 2012 Romanian Olympic team

In July 2012, Cătălina competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She helped the Romanian team win a bronze medal. She also qualified for the balance beam and floor finals.

In the individual finals, Cătălina won a silver medal on floor. She placed fourth on balance beam. Even though she didn't win a medal on beam, Cătălina said she would retire without regrets. She felt proud of her hard work for her team and herself.

Another Return: 2015–2017

In February 2015, Cătălina hinted at another comeback. She officially announced her return in March. She knew it would be a challenge. In September, she competed in a friendly meet between Romania and France, helping her team win.

In June 2016, Cătălina won two bronze medals at the European Championships. On July 6, she was chosen to represent Romania at the 2016 Summer Olympics. This was a big honor, as she was also named Romania's flag bearer for the opening ceremony. She placed seventh in the balance beam final at the Olympics.

In 2017, Cătălina continued to compete. She won gold medals on balance beam and floor at the Baku World Cup. A week later, she won silver on beam at the Doha World Cup.

At the European Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Cătălina won an emotional gold medal on balance beam in front of her home crowd.

In October 2017, Cătălina competed at the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. She did not qualify for the finals after a fall on beam and a step out of bounds on floor.

After competing at the Mexico Open, Cătălina announced her official retirement from competitive gymnastics for the third time.

Personal Life

Cătălina Ponor was in a relationship with Puerto Rican gymnast Tommy Ramos from 2012 to 2016. On June 18, 2022, she married Romanian actor and director Bogdan Jianu. On her 35th birthday, Cătălina shared on Instagram that she and Bogdan were expecting their first child. On December 29, 2022, Cătălina gave birth to a baby boy. She also announced Romania's jury points in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

Competitive History

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2003
	World Championships
2004
	European Championships
	Olympic Games
2005
	European Championships						4
	World Championships
2006
	European Championships
2007
	World Championships					4
	National Championships
2011
	World Championships	4				7
	National Championships
2012	Doha World Cup
	FRA-ROU Friendly
	GER-GBR-ROU Friendly
	European Championships
	Ghent World Cup
	ROU-FRA-GER-ITA Friendly
	Olympic Games					4
2015	FRA-ROU Friendly
2016	Doha World Cup
	BEL-ROU-GER Friendly
	European Championships	6
	National Championships
	Chemnitz Friendly
	Olympic Games					7
	Mexican Open
2017	Baku World Cup
	Doha World Cup
	European Championships
	National Championships
	Szombathely World Cup
	Arthur Gander Memorial		4	7			4
	Mexican Open

Images for kids

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  Ponor at the 2007 World Championships

See also

In Spanish: Cătălina Ponor para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Romania
• List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics