Sandra Izbașa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sandra Izbașa
Izbaşa on the beam in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Sandra Raluca Izbașa
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1990-06-18) 18 June 1990 (age 35) Bucharest, Romania
Height	167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	52 kg (115 lb)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2002–13 (ROU)
Club	CSA Steaua București
Head coach(es)	Octavian Bellu, Mariana Bitang
Former coach(es)	Nicolae Forminte, Livia Ponoran
Choreographer	Puia Valer, Adriana Pop
Music	2008: Taniec Eleny 2010: Kalinka and Hava Nagila 2011: Tango Amore 2012: Shine On You Crazy Diamond 2013: Feeling Good
Retired	April 10, 2014
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 2 World Championships 0 1 2 European Championships 7 4 1 European Youth Olympic Festival 1 2 0 Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  Romania Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Floor Exercise Gold 2012 London Vault Bronze 2008 Beijing Team Bronze 2012 London Team World Championships Silver 2006 Aarhus Balance Beam Bronze 2006 Aarhus All Around Bronze 2007 Stuttgart Team European Championships Gold 2006 Volos Floor Exercise Gold 2008 Clermont Team Gold 2008 Clermont Floor Exercise Gold 2011 Berlin Vault Gold 2011 Berlin Floor Exercise Gold 2012 Brussels Team Gold 2012 Brussels Vault Silver 2006 Volos Team Silver 2007 Amsterdam All Around Silver 2007 Amsterdam Balance Beam Silver 2008 Clermont Balance Beam Bronze 2006 Volos Balance Beam European Youth Olympic Festival Gold 2005 Lignano Sabbiadoro Vault Silver 2005 Lignano Sabbiadoro Team Silver 2005 Lignano Sabbiadoro Balance Beam

Sandra Raluca Izbașa (born June 18, 1990) is a famous retired artistic gymnast from Romania. She is known for winning two Olympic gold medals. She won the floor exercise at the 2008 Olympics and the vault event at the 2012 Olympics. Sandra also earned two Olympic bronze medals as part of the Romanian team in both 2008 and 2012. She has won many other medals at World and European Championships.

Sandra's Gymnastics Journey

Starting Her Senior Career: 2006

In April 2006, Sandra competed at the European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Greece. She helped the Romanian team win a silver medal. Individually, she won a bronze medal on the balance beam and a gold medal on the floor exercise.

In October, she competed at the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Denmark. The Romanian team finished fourth. Sandra won a bronze medal in the individual all-around competition. She also won a silver medal on the balance beam.

Later in November, Sandra won a gold medal on the floor exercise at a World Cup event in the United Kingdom. She also earned a bronze medal on the balance beam.

Continuing Success: 2007

In March 2007, Sandra competed at a World Cup event in Paris. She won a bronze medal on the floor exercise.

The next month, she competed at the 2007 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Amsterdam. She won a silver medal in the all-around competition. She also won another silver medal on the balance beam.

In September, Sandra helped the Romanian team win a bronze medal at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Germany.

Olympic Glory: 2008

In April 2008, Sandra competed at the 2008 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in France. She helped the Romanian team win a gold medal. She also won a silver medal on the balance beam and a gold medal on the floor exercise.

Later in April, she won a gold medal on the floor exercise at a World Cup event in Germany. She also earned a bronze medal on the balance beam.

Beijing Olympics: A Golden Moment

In August 2008, Sandra competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She helped the Romanian team win a bronze medal. This was a big achievement for the team!

Individually, Sandra had an amazing performance. She won the gold medal in the floor exercise final. This was her first Olympic gold medal!

Dealing with Injuries: 2009-2010

In 2009, Sandra competed at the 2009 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Italy. She finished seventh in the floor final.

Later in 2009, Sandra faced a challenge. She tore her right Achilles tendon while practicing a difficult move on the floor. She needed surgery to fix it. This injury meant she had to take a break from gymnastics.

Izbașa (first on the left) in 2010

In September 2010, Sandra made a great comeback! She returned to competition at a World Cup event in Belgium. She won the gold medal in the floor final. She also won gold on floor and silver on vault and beam at the Romanian National Championships.

In October, she competed at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in the Netherlands. She helped the Romanian team finish fourth. Sandra showed great determination by coming back to help her team after her injury.

More European Wins: 2011

In March 2011, Sandra won another gold medal on the floor exercise at a World Cup event in Paris.

In April, she competed at the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin. She had a fantastic competition, winning gold medals on both the vault and the floor exercise.

In October, Sandra was supposed to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo, but she had to withdraw because of a foot injury.

Second Olympic Gold: 2012

In May 2012, Sandra competed at the 2012 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium. She helped the Romanian team win a gold medal. She also won the gold medal in the vault final.

Floor exercise

Vault

Izbașa at the 2012 Olympics

London Olympics: A Vault Victory

At the end of July 2012, Sandra competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She helped the Romanian team win a bronze medal.

In the individual vault final, Sandra performed incredibly well and won her second Olympic gold medal! She was very happy, saying that the vault final was a "war of nerves." She was chosen to be Romania's flag bearer for the Olympic closing ceremony, which is a great honor.

Later Career and Retirement: 2013

In October 2013, Sandra competed at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium. She finished seventh in the floor exercise final.

Sandra decided to retire from gymnastics in 2014. She briefly returned to training in 2015, hoping to compete in the 2016 Olympics, but she decided it wasn't the right time.

Competitive History

Izbașa (right) with Diana Bulimar and Larisa Iordache.

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2004
	European Championships		6	5		4
	Chunichi Cup
	Romanian Championships
2005	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Junior Japan International
	Swiss Cup Juniors
Senior
2006	Romanian Championships
	Lyon World Cup				6
	Glasgow World Cup
	European Championships			7
	World Championships	4		8			6
2007
	European Championships			8
	World Championships		9				8
	Paris World Cup			6		5
2008
	European Championships
	Olympic Games		8
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup
	Toyota Cup
	Italian Grand Prix
	Cottbus World Cup
	World Cup Final					4
	GBR-ROU Friendly
2009	Nadia Comăneci Invitational
	City of Jesolo Trophy
	European Championships						7
2010	Ghent World Cup
	World Championships	4					7
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	SUI-GER-ROU Friendly
	Swiss Cup	4
2011	Paris Challenge Cup
	SUI-GER-ROU Friendly
	European Championships
2012
	European Championships
	FRA-ROU Friendly
	Romanian International Friendly
	Olympic Games		5				8
2013	Dutch Invitational
	World Championships						7
2015	FRA-ROU Friendly

See also

In Spanish: Sandra Izbașa para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Romania