Daniela Silivaș facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daniela Silivaș
Silivaș in 1987
Personal information
Full name	Daniela Viorica Silivaș-Harper
Nickname(s)	Dana
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1972-05-09) 9 May 1972 (age 53) Deva, Romania
Height	1.45 m (4 ft 9 in)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	1985–1989
Gym	Deva National Training Center
Head coach(es)	Adrian Goreac, Maria Cosma, Octavian Bellu
Former coach(es)	Béla Károlyi, Márta Károlyi
Music	1985–1986: "Turkey in the Straw"/"Cotton Eye Joe" 1987: "Ochi Chernye"/"Dark Eyes" 1988: "Macho Mozart" by the Latin Rascals 1989: "Ciuleandra"
Eponymous skills	Silivaș mount (balance beam): shoulder stand–pirouette to chest stand ; floor: double twisting double back tucked somersault
Retired	1991
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 1988 Seoul Uneven Bars Gold 1988 Seoul Balance Beam Gold 1988 Seoul Floor Exercise Silver 1988 Seoul Team Silver 1988 Seoul All-Around Bronze 1988 Seoul Vault World Championships Gold 1985 Montreal Balance Beam Gold 1987 Rotterdam Team Gold 1987 Rotterdam Uneven Bars Gold 1987 Rotterdam Floor Exercise Gold 1989 Stuttgart Uneven Bars Gold 1989 Stuttgart Balance Beam Gold 1989 Stuttgart Floor Exercise Silver 1985 Montreal Team Silver 1989 Stuttgart Team Bronze 1987 Rotterdam All-Around World Cup Final Silver 1986 Beijing All-Around Silver 1986 Beijing Balance Beam Bronze 1986 Beijing Uneven Bars European Championships Gold 1987 Moscow All-Around Gold 1987 Moscow Uneven Bars Gold 1987 Moscow Balance Beam Gold 1987 Moscow Floor Exercise Gold 1989 Brussels Floor Exercise Silver 1987 Moscow Vault Silver 1989 Brussels All-Around Silver 1989 Brussels Uneven Bars Bronze 1985 Helsinki Floor Exercise Bronze 1989 Brussels Balance Beam

Daniela Viorica Silivaș-Harper (born May 9, 1972) is a former Romanian gymnast. She is famous for winning six medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. She won three gold, two silver, and one bronze medal. This made her the fourth female gymnast ever to win a medal in every single event at one Olympics. As of 2025, Daniela is the last gymnast, male or female, to achieve this amazing feat.

Daniela Silivaș was also the first gymnast to win three Olympic and World individual titles on three different pieces of equipment: uneven bars, floor, and balance beam. She earned 16 Olympic and World medals, with 10 of them being gold! In 1987, she won four gold medals and one silver at the European Championships. During her career, she achieved 24 perfect 10 scores. Seven of these perfect scores were at the Seoul Olympics, matching Nadia Comăneci's record from 1976.

Daniela was known for her excellent technique, difficult routines, and charming performances. She retired in 1991 and moved to the United States. In 2002, she was honored by being added to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Gymnastics Start

Daniela Silivaș was born in Deva, Romania, on May 9, 1972. She started gymnastics when she was 6 years old. She won her school's championships in 1980. She was also the Romanian junior national champion in both 1981 and 1982.

Daniela continued to compete in junior events. In 1984, she did very well at the Junior European Championships. There, she won the balance beam title and earned silver medals on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She also won gold medals in the all-around and uneven bars at the 1984 Junior Friendship Tournament.

Senior Gymnastics Career

Competing at a Younger Age

In 1985, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation changed Daniela's birth year from 1972 to 1970. This was done so she would be old enough to compete in the World Championships in Montreal. Daniela herself shared this information in 2002. She said that officials simply gave her a new passport and told her she was now 15.

Winning Big in 1985-1987

Even though she was only 13 years old at the 1985 World Championships, Daniela scored a perfect 10. She won the balance beam title, beating the Olympic champion, her teammate Ecaterina Szabo. Daniela quickly became a top gymnast for the Romanian team.

Her biggest success came at the 1987 European Gymnastics Championships in Moscow. She won gold medals in the individual all-around, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. She also won a silver medal on the vault. Winning this title was a huge achievement because many strong gymnasts from Europe competed there.

Silivaș at the 1987 World Championships

At the 1987 World Championships in Rotterdam, Daniela helped the Romanian team win the team title. This was the first time they had beaten the Soviet team since 1979. She was expected to win the all-around title. Even with a fall on the balance beam, she still won the bronze medal. She also won gold medals on the uneven bars and floor exercise in the event finals.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, the Romanian team finished second to the Soviet team. Daniela was one of the top gymnasts expected to win the all-around title.

The all-around competition was a close fight between Daniela and Soviet gymnast Yelena Shushunova. Both gymnasts received perfect 10.0 scores on the floor exercise. Daniela also earned a 10.0 on the uneven bars. Daniela was leading before the last rotation. However, a score of 9.950 on the vault caused her to finish second, just 0.025 points behind Shushunova.

Daniela's vault score was closely watched. One judge gave her a 9.8, while others gave her 9.9s and 10.0s. Even though her score was debated, it did not change her final result. In 1988, the highest and lowest scores from judges were removed. Daniela was visibly upset after the scores were announced. However, she did not publicly argue the results.

Despite the close all-around competition, Daniela came back strong in the event finals. She won gold medals on the uneven bars, floor, and balance beam. She also won a bronze medal on vault. This made her the only gymnast at the Seoul Olympics to win medals in every event. She also matched Nadia Comăneci's record of seven perfect 10 scores in a single Olympic Games.

After the Olympics

In 1989, Daniela suffered a serious knee injury. Despite this, she successfully defended her floor exercise title at the European Championships. She also won three more medals, including a silver in the all-around. Still injured, she competed at the 1989 World Championships. She placed 12th in the all-around after falling from the balance beam. However, she still won three more gold medals in the event finals on bars, beam, and floor.

After more competitions in 1989, Daniela had surgery on her knee. She planned to train again, but the National Training Center in Deva closed during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. This brought an early end to her gymnastics career.

Life After Gymnastics

Daniela Silivaș retired from gymnastics in 1991. She then moved to the United States and settled in Atlanta. In 2002, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She holds the record as the youngest gymnast to receive this honor.

Daniela now works full-time as a gymnastics coach at Jump Start Gymnasium in Sandy Springs, Georgia. In May 2003, she married Scott Harper. They have three children: two sons, Jadan Scott (born 2004) and Rylan Bryce Harper (born 2009), and a daughter, Ava Luciana (born 2005). They live in Marietta, Georgia.

Gymnastics Skills and Moves

Daniela Silivaș was known for her perfect form, difficult moves, and expressive dance. Many of the skills she performed in the 1988 Olympics are still considered very difficult today. One of these is the "Silivaș" on floor. It is a double-twisting double back tucked somersault. This move has one of the highest difficulty ratings in women's gymnastics.

Between 1985 and 1988, some of Daniela's most impressive skills included:

• Vault: Tucked Yurchenko full, Layout Yurchenko full
• Uneven Bars: Stalder 1/2 pirouette into Endo 1/2 pirouette, Straddled Deltchev, Straddled Tkatchev, Shaposhnikova transition, Free hip frontaway to front 1/2 dismount
• Balance Beam: The "Silivaș" mount (shoulder stand–pirouette to chest stand), Back handspring, two layout step-outs, Back handspring, layout on two feet, Aerial front walkover, Double back tuck dismount
• Floor Exercise: "Back to back" tumbling (Round-off, back handspring, double twist, punch front, round-off, back handspring, double twist, punch front), Triple twist, Double twisting double back tuck ("Silivaș"), Tucked full-in, Piked full-in, Double back tuck, Double tour–double pirouette, The "Silivaș" skill (spinning on the ankles)

Skills Named After Her

Daniela Silivaș has two gymnastics skills named after her in the Code of Points.

Images for kids

• 

  Silivaș at the 1987 World Championships

See also

In Spanish: Daniela Silivaș para niños

• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Romania
• List of top Olympic gymnastics medalists
• List of top medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships