Marian Drăgulescu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marian Drăgulescu
Personal information
Full name	Marian Drăgulescu
Nickname(s)	The Moroccan
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1980-12-18) 18 December 1980 (age 44) Bucharest, Romania
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Gym	CSA Steaua București
Head coach(es)	Dănuț Grecu
Assistant coach(es)	Stefan Gal
Eponymous skills	Drăgulescu (vault)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 2 World Championships 8 2 0 European Championships 10 6 2 Total 18 9 4 Representing  Romania Olympic Games Silver 2004 Athens Floor Exercise Bronze 2004 Athens Team Bronze 2004 Athens Vault World Championships Gold 2001 Ghent Floor Exercise Gold 2001 Ghent Vault Gold 2002 Debrecen Floor Exercise Gold 2005 Melbourne Vault Gold 2006 Aarhus Floor Exercise Gold 2006 Aarhus Vault Gold 2009 London Floor Exercise Gold 2009 London Vault Silver 2003 Anaheim Vault Silver 2015 Glasgow Vault European Championships Gold 2000 Bremen Floor Exercise Gold 2002 Patras Team Gold 2002 Patras Vault Gold 2004 Ljubljana Team Gold 2004 Ljubljana All-Around Gold 2004 Ljubljana Floor Exercise Gold 2004 Ljubljana Vault Gold 2005 Debrecen Floor Exercise Gold 2006 Volos Vault Gold 2017 Cluj-Napoca Floor Exercise Silver 2000 Bremen Team Silver 2006 Volos Team Silver 2006 Volos Floor Exercise Silver 2016 Bern Floor Exercise Silver 2016 Bern Vault Silver 2017 Cluj-Napoca Vault Bronze 2000 Bremen All-Around Bronze 2002 Patras Floor Exercise

Marian Drăgulescu (born December 18, 1980, in Bucharest) is a famous Romanian artistic gymnast. He won many medals during his career. He earned 31 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and European Championships. Eight of these were gold medals at World Championships. Ten were gold medals at European Championships.

Drăgulescu was especially good at vault and floor exercises. He became a world champion and Olympic medalist in these events. A special move on the vault, called the handspring double front somersault with ½ turn, is named after him. It is known as the "Drăgulescu" in gymnastics. He was also the European champion in the all-around competition in 2004. He won a bronze medal in 2000. In 2005, he was named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year.

Early Life and Gymnastics Start

When Marian Drăgulescu was a young boy, he started gymnastics. He actually joined to avoid karate classes! Later, training became more serious. He decided to try swimming because it was free.

His father did not know he had stopped gymnastics. After three months, swimming was no longer free. So, Marian went back to the gym. His first big competition as a junior was in 1998. It was the European Championships in St. Petersburg. There, he won a gold medal on the pommel horse. He also got a silver on vault and a bronze on floor. His team won a bronze medal too.

Senior Gymnastics Career

Starting as a Senior (1999–2003)

Marian Drăgulescu first competed as a senior at the 1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He finished fourth on vault and eighth on high bar. In 2000, he won a bronze medal in the all-around at the European Championships. He also took gold on floor and silver with his team.

His first Olympic Games in 2000 were not as successful. He placed sixth on floor and 13th in the all-around. But he quickly bounced back! The next year, at the World Championships in Ghent, Belgium, he was amazing. He won gold medals on both floor and vault.

In 2002, he added three more gold medals to his collection. He won two at the European Championships with his team and on vault. He also won a bronze on floor. For his great achievements, he received the "Gymnast of the Year Award" in 2002. This award was given by the International Press Association. At the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, he won a silver medal on vault.

Athens Olympics and European Success (2004)

The 2004 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Ljubljana were a huge success for Drăgulescu. He helped his team win gold again, just like in 2002. Marian also won the all-around title. He took home gold medals on both floor and vault.

He was only the second gymnast to win four gold medals at a European Championships. The first was the legendary Nadia Comăneci in 1975.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Drăgulescu helped his team win a bronze medal. He was doing very well in the all-around event. However, a mistake on the high bar cost him a medal. He won a silver medal in the men's floor exercise. It was a very close competition, decided by a tie-breaker.

On the men's vault, he performed his own difficult move, the "Drăgulescu." He scored a very high 9.9. This was the highest score in World or Olympic competition since 1995. He just needed to land his second vault to win gold. But he fell. He still received a bronze medal. This decision was a bit controversial at the time.

After Athens and the 2008 Olympics

Marian Drăgulescu announced he would retire in mid-2005. But he soon returned to gymnastics! At the World Championships in Melbourne in 2005, he won the vault title. He had worked hard to add a strong second vault to his routine.

He continued to be a top performer on vault. He kept his title at the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. He also won the floor title there. Drăgulescu no longer competed in all six events. This allowed him to focus more on his best events.

In 2007, Drăgulescu had a tough time at the European Championships. He landed badly on his head during a floor routine. He then injured his back on his second vault. Doctors told him to stop training. He missed the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships because of this injury. He only started training again a few months before the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Drăgulescu made it to the vault finals. But history repeated itself. Just like in Athens 2004, he fell on his second vault. He had performed an almost perfect first vault. This fall meant he missed his chance for an Olympic gold medal. He finished fourth on vault.

Comebacks and Later Career

Drăgulescu was very disappointed after the Beijing Olympics. He said his "soul broke" after his fall. He announced he would retire and become a coach. However, he changed his mind again! He went to compete in Germany for a club. He performed very well on floor and vault. After this, he formally announced his retirement. He then started coaching gymnastics in Bucharest. His goal was to train a gymnast even better than himself.

Marian Drăgulescu, Flavius Koczi and Anton Golotsutskov at the 2009 World Championships

In 2009, Drăgulescu decided to return to gymnastics once more. This comeback was very successful! He won both the floor and vault titles at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

In 2010, he skipped some competitions. He was part of the Romanian team at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He competed on vault, floor, and high bar. In 2011, he made another comeback at the Romanian Nationals. This was his first time competing in the all-around in seven years. He helped his team qualify for the 2012 Olympics. He also made it to the all-around, floor, and vault finals. But he had to withdraw from all finals due to an injury.

In 2015, Drăgulescu won gold in vault at the Israel Cup. He was even training a new skill, possibly a "Drăgulescu 2." This would be a Drăgulescu with a full twist. On November 1, 2015, he won a silver medal in vault at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow. He was 34 years old, the oldest vault finalist there.

In May 2016, Drăgulescu (at age 36) won two silver medals at the European Championships in Bern, Switzerland. He won silver on vault and on floor. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he qualified for the vault final. He tied for the bronze medal, but due to tie-break rules, he finished fourth. This was the second time a tie-break at the Olympics did not go his way.

In 2017, Drăgulescu represented Romania at the European Championships. He won gold in the floor exercise, his first European victory in 11 years! The next day, he won a silver medal on vault. At the 2017 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, he finished fourth in the vault final. He was 36 years old, again the oldest vault finalist.

In 2019, at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Drăgulescu again placed fourth in the vault final. He was 38 years old, making him the oldest vault finalist once more.

For the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021), Drăgulescu qualified as a specialist. He chose to focus only on vault. He was 40 years old when he competed. He did not qualify for the finals, but it was an amazing achievement to compete at that age.

Awards and Recognition

• Gymnast of the Year (2002): He shared this award with gymnast Elena Gómez.
• Romanian Sportsman of the Year (2005): The Romanian Sporting Press gave him this award. He shared it with fencer Mihai Covaliu.
• BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year in 2005.
• Romanian Sportsman of the Year (2009): He shared this award with boxer Lucian Bute.

See also

In Spanish: Marian Drăgulescu para niños