Larisa Iordache facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Larisa Iordache
Iordache in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Larisa Andreea Iordache
Nickname(s)	Lari, Pikachu, Piciul
Born	(1996-06-19) 19 June 1996 (age 29) Bucharest, Romania
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2008–2021 (ROU)
Club	CSS Dinamo
Head coach(es)	Octavian Bellu, Mariana Bitang
Former coach(es)	Octavian Bellu, Mariana Bitang, Lacramioara Moldovan, Claudiu Moldovan, Gheorghe Orban, Ramona Micu, Adela Popa, Daniel Nistor, Aurica Nistor
Choreographer	Corina Dorean
Music	"Exosuit" from The Huntsman: Winter's War
Retired	16 December 2021
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 0 1 World Championships 0 2 2 European Championships 7 7 2 Summer Universiade 2 0 1 Representing  Romania Olympic Games Bronze 2012 London Team World Championships Silver 2014 Nanning All-Around Silver 2014 Nanning Floor Exercise Bronze 2013 Antwerp Floor Exercise Bronze 2015 Glasgow All-Around European Championships Gold 2012 Brussels Team Gold 2012 Brussels Floor Exercise Gold 2013 Moscow Balance Beam Gold 2014 Sofia Team Gold 2014 Sofia Floor Exercise Gold 2020 Mersin Balance Beam Gold 2020 Mersin Floor Exercise Silver 2012 Brussels Balance Beam Silver 2013 Moscow All-Around Silver 2013 Moscow Vault Silver 2013 Moscow Floor Exercise Silver 2014 Sofia Balance Beam Silver 2020 Mersin Team Silver 2020 Mersin Vault Bronze 2014 Sofia Vault Bronze 2017 Cluj-Napoca Balance Beam Summer Universiade Gold 2017 Taipei All-Around Gold 2017 Taipei Floor Exercise Bronze 2017 Taipei Balance Beam FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 3 1 1 Apparatus World Cup 4 2 0 World Challenge Cup 6 1 1

Larisa Andreea Iordache (born 19 June 1996) is a famous former Romanian gymnast. She won a bronze medal with her team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She also competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

When she was just 12, people in Romania called Larisa "The New Nadia". This was because she showed amazing skills and potential. In her first year as a senior gymnast in 2012, Larisa won two gold medals at the European Championships. She won with her team and for her floor exercise routine.

Larisa has won many medals throughout her career. She earned silver medals in the all-around and on floor exercise at the 2014 World Championships. She also won bronze medals in the all-around at the 2015 World Championships and on floor exercise at the 2013 World Championships.

She was the 2013 European champion on the balance beam. At the 2014 European Championships, she won four medals, more than any other gymnast. She won gold with her team and on floor exercise, silver on balance beam, and bronze on vault. In 2020, after a three-year break, she returned to win more gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2020 European Championships. She also won a silver medal with her team and on vault. Larisa has won 16 medals at the European Championships. This makes her the second most awarded gymnast at the European level, after Svetlana Khorkina.

Early Life

Larisa Iordache was born in Bucharest, Romania, and she still lives there. Her mother, Adriana Iordache, played handball, and her father played football. She has an older brother named Răzvan who also plays football.

Larisa started gymnastics after her first coach, Mariana Câmpeanu-Silişteanu, saw her rollerblading. Her coach asked Larisa's mother to enroll her in gymnastics classes. Larisa began gymnastics at age five. She said, "I didn't choose gymnastics – it chose me. It just happened." She also shared that she was scared on her first day. But after three days, she loved gymnastics.

Larisa began training at CSS Dinamo Club in Bucharest. In 2008, she joined the junior national team. Coaches Ramona Micu, Adela Popa, Lacramioara Moldovan, and Claudiu Moldovan trained her. People in Romania started comparing her to Nadia Comăneci, a famous Olympic champion. Larisa felt honored but believed every gymnast is unique.

Junior Career

Iordache at the 2009 Top Gym Trophy

Larisa Iordache started her international junior career at the 2009 Top Gym Trophy in Charleroi, Belgium. She won a bronze medal with her team. She also won gold medals in the all-around and on the balance beam.

2010

Larisa's first big international event was the European Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Her team finished second, earning a silver medal. Larisa won a bronze medal in the all-around competition. In the individual event finals, she won silver on balance beam and tied for gold on floor exercise.

2011

In 2011, Larisa competed at the Gym Festival in Trnava, Slovakia. She won the all-around final by a large margin. She also won gold medals on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Later that year, she competed at the 2011 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Turkey. Her team won silver, and Larisa won the all-around gold. She also won gold on balance beam and floor exercise, and silver on vault and uneven bars.

Senior Career

2012

Larisa became old enough to compete as a senior gymnast in 2012. In March, she competed at the American Cup in New York City. She won a bronze medal in the all-around. In May, she competed at the 2012 European Championships in Brussels. Her team won the gold medal. Larisa also won a silver medal on balance beam and a gold medal on floor exercise.

London Olympics

Iordache (second from the left) with the 2012 Romanian Olympic team

In July, Larisa represented Romania at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Before the competition, she had pain in her left foot. Despite this, she competed in all four events in the qualification round. She helped Romania finish fourth. In the team final, she helped her team win a bronze medal. She finished ninth in the all-around final and sixth in the balance beam final.

2013

At the 2013 European Championships in Moscow, Larisa performed very well. She qualified first for the all-around and balance beam finals. She won the silver medal in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise. She also won the gold medal on the balance beam.

In October, Larisa competed at the 2013 World Championships in Belgium. She finished fourth in the all-around final. She won the bronze medal in the floor exercise final. After the World Championships, she won gold medals at the Arthur Gander Memorial and the Swiss Cup. She also won gold in the all-around at the Elite Gym Massilia and Glasgow World Cup.

2014

Iordache at the 2014 European Championships

In 2014, Larisa won gold medals on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise at the Doha World Cup. At the 2014 European Championships, she won four medals. Her team won the gold medal. She won a bronze medal on vault, a silver medal on balance beam, and a gold medal on floor exercise.

Iordache (center) with Diana Bulimar and Sandra Izbașa in 2014

At the Romanian National Championships, Larisa won four gold medals. She won the all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise. In October, she competed at the 2014 World Championships in China. She helped her team finish fourth. Individually, she won a silver medal in the all-around competition. She also won a silver medal in the floor exercise final.

2015

Larisa had to miss some competitions in 2015 due to an ankle injury. She returned to compete in September at a friendly competition, winning the all-around gold. At the Romanian National Championships, she won gold with her club team and in the all-around. She also won gold on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.

Larisa was chosen for the 2015 World Championships. The Romanian team faced some challenges and finished thirteenth. However, Larisa won the bronze medal in the all-around final. She said she felt much better after winning the medal. After the World Championships, she won gold at the Arthur Gander Memorial.

2016

In March 2016, Larisa broke a bone in her hand during balance beam training and needed surgery. This meant she missed the Olympic Test Event, and Romania could not qualify a full team for the Olympics. She had another surgery on her hand in May.

She returned to compete at the National Championships in July, even though she had a concussion. She won gold on uneven bars and silver on balance beam. She hurt her knee during her uneven bars routine. Larisa was named the alternate for the Olympic Games. She later confirmed she would continue competing.

2017

Larisa started her 2017 season at the Sainté Gym Cup in France. She won gold on uneven bars and silver on balance beam. She competed at the European Championships in her home country. She won the bronze medal in the balance beam final.

In May, Larisa competed at the World Cup in Koper. She won gold medals on both uneven bars and balance beam. She then represented Romania at the 2017 Summer Universiade. She won the gold medal in the all-around final. In the event finals, she won a bronze medal on balance beam and a gold medal on floor exercise.

At the Romanian Championships, Larisa won the gold medal in the all-around. She also won gold medals on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. In October, Larisa went to the 2017 World Championships in Montreal. Sadly, she tore her Achilles tendon during warm-ups and had to have surgery. She had a second surgery a month later.

2018–2019

Larisa's recovery from her Achilles tendon injury was slow. In September 2018, she had her third surgery on her Achilles tendon. In January 2019, doctors told her she could train fully again. Larisa then officially announced her return to gymnastics.

2020

In October 2020, Larisa announced she had COVID-19. Her symptoms were mild. In November, she made her comeback at the Romanian National Championships. She then joined Romania's team for the 2020 European Championships.

At the European Championships, the Romanian team won the silver medal. Larisa won the silver medal on vault. She also won gold medals on both balance beam and floor exercise.

2021

In April 2021, Larisa competed at the 2021 European Championships. This was her last chance to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Despite feeling unwell, she competed and qualified for the Olympics. She also qualified for the balance beam and floor exercise finals. However, she had to withdraw from these finals due to a kidney infection. At the end of the championships, Larisa received the Shooting Star award. This award is given to gymnasts who inspire others.

Larisa competed at the Cairo World Challenge Cup in June. She won the gold medal on balance beam and the bronze medal on uneven bars. She had to withdraw from another competition after her mother passed away.

Tokyo Olympics

Larisa qualified to represent Romania at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Due to an ankle injury, she only competed on the balance beam. She qualified for the balance beam final. However, she had to withdraw from the final because of her ankle injury.

In December, Larisa had surgery on her ankle. On 16 December, she announced her retirement from gymnastics on her Instagram account.

Competitive history

Competitive history of Larisa Iordache

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2009	Top Gym Trophy				7
2010
	Junior European Championships
	National Championships
	Schiltigheim International
2011	French Championships
	Gym Festival
	ROU-GBR Friendly
	European Youth Olympic Festival
Senior
2012	American Cup
	Doha World Cup				4
	FRA-ROU Friendly
	GER-GBR-ROU Friendly
	European Championships
	FRA-GER-ITA-ROU Friendly
	Olympic Games		9			6
2013	Doha World Cup				7
	European Championships
	Anadia World Cup
	World Championships		4			7
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup
	Elite Gym Massilia
	Stuttgart World Cup
	Glasgow World Cup
2014	Doha World Cup
	BEL-FRA-ROU Friendly
	European Championships				6
	National Championships
	SUI-GER-ROU Friendly
	World Championships	4				5
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup	7
	Stuttgart World Cup
	Glasgow World Cup
2015	FRA-ROU Friendly
	National Championships
	Novara Cup
	World Championships
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup
2016	National Championships
	FRA-ROU Friendly
	Chemnitz Friendly		9
2017
	European Championships
	Koper World Cup
	French Championships
	Summer Universiade				5
	National Championships
	Paris World Cup				4
2018	did not compete
2019
2020
	European Championships				4
2021
	European Championships		WD			WD	WD
	Cairo Challenge Cup
	Olympic Games					WD

See also

In Spanish: Larisa Iordache para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Romania