Click the above link for a picture of Lilia, Timofey and the children in happier days, and a look at the tabloid headlines their divorce is making...
Lilia in a recent photo shoot (photo: Volodymyr Shuvayev)
Showing posts with label yikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yikes. Show all posts
January 23, 2009
Lilia Podkopayeva to Get a Divorce
Several Russian and Ukrainian sites (among others, this one) are reporting that 1996 Olympic champion Lilia Podkopayeva is getting a divorce from her husband of four years, Timofey Nagorniy. Apparently, Lilia initiated the divorce, but Timofey made the formal application. The couple's two children, Vadim (adopted) and Karolina (their own), will stay with Lilia, but Timofey will have unlimited access to them. It sounds like the couple are parting on good terms.
Click the above link for a picture of Lilia, Timofey and the children in happier days, and a look at the tabloid headlines their divorce is making...
Lilia in a recent photo shoot (photo: Volodymyr Shuvayev)
Click the above link for a picture of Lilia, Timofey and the children in happier days, and a look at the tabloid headlines their divorce is making...
Lilia in a recent photo shoot (photo: Volodymyr Shuvayev)
December 1, 2008
In Which We Say Unkind Things about the FIG
The FIG has posted another self-congratulatory press release on its site, listing the names of the final top-8-ranked gymnasts to confirm their presence in Madrid. Read the list for yourself. It's okay but nothing to get really excited about, in our opinion. Quite frankly we're more interested to see the FIG's next press release, which will presumably tell us which non-top-8-ranked gymnasts will round out the field. The C Score lists some interesting possibilities here.
However, this is not going to be a post about the World Cup Final, although much could be (and has been) said on that subject. Nope. This is going to be a post about the FIG and its careless attitude toward the sport.
Have you ever had the feeling that the FIG didn't really know what it was doing? That it was just making things up as it went along, with nary a thought for the consequences of its decisions? We most definitely have. Over the years we've had countless discussions about how the FIG was ruining our sport with its trillions of stupid rules, none of which increased the appeal of the sport in the slightest. We've also spent days if not weeks lamenting the fact that gymnastics is no longer the artistic sport it once was, that competitions are no longer held the way they once were, etc. Often these conversations ended in a mega-frustrated "Can't the FIG see what it's doing? Don't they watch their own competitions?"
Well, it appears they don't. Or at least their PR people and webmasters don't.
We were pretty shocked to see the number of typos in the names of the gymnasts whose presence at the World Cup Final the FIG has confirmed over the last few days (read the two top posts here to see what we mean). These are famous gymnasts, and it seems their own federation can't be bothered to spell their names correctly. Worrying, isn't it?
But it gets worse. Guess what we found when we checked out the FIG's Olympic photo gallery?
It started with this photo. According to the FIG, it's He Kexin, which confused us momentarily as we thought He only did bars in Beijing and sheep jumps aren't often encountered on bars. (Although we do think it would be a cool element to tack on to a routine. Seriously, try picturing it: A toe-on to squat on the high bar, followed by a sheep jump, straight into a Korbut flip, straight into a Pak. We know it's forbidden to stand or land on the bar like that but it would be cool!)
Then we saw this photo, supposedly of He again, and that's when we realized that the FIG doesn't have a clue about its own champions.
They must have realized it themselves too, for on the next page of the gallery they stopped naming the gymnasts, assigning them numbers instead. For obviously it was way too hard to identify this gymnast, right? Or this one? Or, you know, this one?
With a webmaster that clueless, we're no longer surprised that the FIG does the things it does. They obviously don't care about the sport they're supposed to represent. Alarming, isn't it?
P.S. We do give the FIG props for posting this picture of our beloved Sandra. That's pretty damn funny. Does anyone know what was going on there?
However, this is not going to be a post about the World Cup Final, although much could be (and has been) said on that subject. Nope. This is going to be a post about the FIG and its careless attitude toward the sport.
Have you ever had the feeling that the FIG didn't really know what it was doing? That it was just making things up as it went along, with nary a thought for the consequences of its decisions? We most definitely have. Over the years we've had countless discussions about how the FIG was ruining our sport with its trillions of stupid rules, none of which increased the appeal of the sport in the slightest. We've also spent days if not weeks lamenting the fact that gymnastics is no longer the artistic sport it once was, that competitions are no longer held the way they once were, etc. Often these conversations ended in a mega-frustrated "Can't the FIG see what it's doing? Don't they watch their own competitions?"
Well, it appears they don't. Or at least their PR people and webmasters don't.
We were pretty shocked to see the number of typos in the names of the gymnasts whose presence at the World Cup Final the FIG has confirmed over the last few days (read the two top posts here to see what we mean). These are famous gymnasts, and it seems their own federation can't be bothered to spell their names correctly. Worrying, isn't it?
But it gets worse. Guess what we found when we checked out the FIG's Olympic photo gallery?
It started with this photo. According to the FIG, it's He Kexin, which confused us momentarily as we thought He only did bars in Beijing and sheep jumps aren't often encountered on bars. (Although we do think it would be a cool element to tack on to a routine. Seriously, try picturing it: A toe-on to squat on the high bar, followed by a sheep jump, straight into a Korbut flip, straight into a Pak. We know it's forbidden to stand or land on the bar like that but it would be cool!)
Then we saw this photo, supposedly of He again, and that's when we realized that the FIG doesn't have a clue about its own champions.
They must have realized it themselves too, for on the next page of the gallery they stopped naming the gymnasts, assigning them numbers instead. For obviously it was way too hard to identify this gymnast, right? Or this one? Or, you know, this one?
With a webmaster that clueless, we're no longer surprised that the FIG does the things it does. They obviously don't care about the sport they're supposed to represent. Alarming, isn't it?
P.S. We do give the FIG props for posting this picture of our beloved Sandra. That's pretty damn funny. Does anyone know what was going on there?
November 25, 2008
Pavlova: I'm Not Sure I'll Be Able to Come Back
The C Score beat us to the story, but just for the record, we'll confirm it. Anna Pavlova, who tore her cruciate ligaments at the recent DTB Cup, is by no means certain she'll ever be back on the apparatus.
Our reader Kristina was kind enough to translate this LiveSport article for us.
Anna Pavlova (photo: Thomas Schreyer)
Pavlova: "I'm Not Sure I'll Be Able to Come Back"
Anna Pavlova, the Russian gymnast and two-time Olympian of 2004 and 2008, underwent an operation to reattach her cruciate ligaments, calling the continuation of her sporting career into question.
"Last week, on November 20, they performed the operation on my injured knee," said Anna Pavlova. "I'm still in the hospital. At the moment the doctors aren't even allowing me to walk. They're carrying out various medical procedures, and a course of physical therapy."
"I'm unable to give an exact diagnosis, but it does all seem quite serious. I don't even know when they'll discharge me from the hospital. It will all depend on how my body responds to the medical procedures. There's no question at all of training in the near future. Without any doubt, I won't be participating in any competitions for the next half year. I hope, of course, that I may still return to gymnastics, but I'm not entirely sure of that," the gymnast was quoted as telling the "All Sport" agency.
So there you have it. The most beautiful gymnast of the moment (well, one of them anyway) isn't sure she'll ever get to show off her beautiful lines and moves on the floor again. We dearly hope she will, for the sport will lose one of its brightest stars if she's forced to retire.
Thanks very much for your translation, Kristina!
Our reader Kristina was kind enough to translate this LiveSport article for us.
Anna Pavlova (photo: Thomas Schreyer)
Pavlova: "I'm Not Sure I'll Be Able to Come Back"
Anna Pavlova, the Russian gymnast and two-time Olympian of 2004 and 2008, underwent an operation to reattach her cruciate ligaments, calling the continuation of her sporting career into question.
"Last week, on November 20, they performed the operation on my injured knee," said Anna Pavlova. "I'm still in the hospital. At the moment the doctors aren't even allowing me to walk. They're carrying out various medical procedures, and a course of physical therapy."
"I'm unable to give an exact diagnosis, but it does all seem quite serious. I don't even know when they'll discharge me from the hospital. It will all depend on how my body responds to the medical procedures. There's no question at all of training in the near future. Without any doubt, I won't be participating in any competitions for the next half year. I hope, of course, that I may still return to gymnastics, but I'm not entirely sure of that," the gymnast was quoted as telling the "All Sport" agency.
So there you have it. The most beautiful gymnast of the moment (well, one of them anyway) isn't sure she'll ever get to show off her beautiful lines and moves on the floor again. We dearly hope she will, for the sport will lose one of its brightest stars if she's forced to retire.
Thanks very much for your translation, Kristina!
November 24, 2008
Meanwhile, Over in Holland...
... the Verona van de Leur scandal is getting a bit sordid.
A few days ago we told you that former Dutch star Verona van de Leur, who became an overnight sensation in 2002, then struggled a bit after a growth spurt, was having a very public row with her parents. Among other things, she was accusing her parents of having used up all her money and trying to make life difficult for her and her boyfriend Robbie, who is much older than herself and has a criminal record. According to Verona, her parents spent thousands of euros that she had either won or been given by her sponsor, then hacked her computer, read her private correspondence, deleted 10 years' worth of photos and videos, threw away many of her belongings, and poisoned everyone against her and her boyfriend. It was a nasty story, but she seemed truthful enough telling it.
Verona during the 2008 European Championships, when things got a little too much for her. She retired soon afterwards. (Photo: Robin Utrecht/ANP)
Anyhow, the day we posted that report, Verona's father posted the following statement on a website, in a comment to an article about Verona's allegations. We're going to quote the entire thing.
"The Rotten Life of Verona van de Leur"
The Real Story!
The bad stuff began when Robbie R. (born 1969) entered our daughter's life [according to Verona, this happened about a year ago]. Fact is, Robbie R. is a criminal with a history of violence and weapon abuse. Fact is, he has threatened us. Fact is, he will have to appear before a Court of Justice for these deeds. Fact is, our front door has been kicked in and two windows at the front of our house have been smashed. Fact is, the same thing happened at the house of Verona's coach. Fact is, this man has been convicted of violence and has done time in prison. Fact is, the police are aware of this. Fact is, she has been abused. Fact is, this is not the first time he has abused someone. Fact is, this man seems a very intimidating guy to have for a "son-in-law." Fact is that his intimidation and threats got so bad that we felt obliged and were adviced to limit access to our house, for our own safety and Verona's sister's.
Verona's father went on to say:
Verona has fallen into the hands of someone who only wants money, at the expense of our daughter. She is being controlled by him and is being kept from her loved ones by him, so that she can't contact her friends in the gymnastics world. The veronavandeleur.nl website has been taken off line because of threats. Her accountant has been threatened too. As a top-level gymnast, you earn next to nothing in Holland. [We assume he's saying this to demonstrate that Verona HAD no money to steal.] We hope our daughter Verona will come to her senses and leave this criminal. Verona is not the only one leading a rotten life; we, her parents and sister, are also having a rotten time of it! And of course the door will always be open for Verona [if she wants to come back].
Which got him an equally public response from Verona, clearly written in great haste...
Anyone can present "facts" on line like my father has done, but I have evidence! My father has cameras in his house, "for safety reasons." If my boyfriend Robbie had really smashed any windows and kicked in the door, my father would have it all on tape. Robbie was arrested because my father filed an intimidation complaint. Robbie was really angry when he heard that my father had emptied my laptop, thrown away the presents Robbie had given me, and locked me out again when I came to pick up my things. He was so angry that he went to their house with a baseball bat. He just wanted to get my stuff back for me. He was sick of my parents doing things like that to their own child, but he left without doing anything (as the videos will prove). Robbie told his story at the police office, after which even the police realized that my father only wanted to have my boyfriend locked up so that he could say, "You see? He's a bad man!" The police let him go straight away because there was no evidence whatsoever that he'd done anything. No doors were kicked in anywhere. If any windows were smashed at my parents' house, there might have been other reasons for that. At any rate, Robbie wasn't involved in that. Robbie actually said, "First call the police and ask them what they can do to help you to get your things back," and he always waited for me around the corner when I went there, not coming to the house with me, as he didn't want to look provocative. He knew my parents would call the police if he showed up. But they never let me in, not even when I was alone or showed up with the police, as I did a few times. This is all known to the police; they have it all on file.
Verona and Robbie (photo taken from Verona's website)
My father is simply trying EVERYTHING to get me to leave my boyfriend, because my family doesn't approve of him. When I told them I wanted to stay with my boyfriend, they told me, "It's either us, your family, or your boyfriend." I told them I couldn't choose. So now they've made my choice for me, by changing the locks, refusing to answer the phone when I call, and not opening the door when I show up. I asked my father to show me my entire bookkeeping, but he refused to give it to me. So Robbie called the accountant and asked him very politely [that is to say, not in an intimidating manner, as Verona's father claims] if he could have a look at the bookkeeping. The accountant was kind enough to send it to us. But the accountant didn't have all the files (my father had some at home). So we started digging in what the accountant did send me, and we have a lot of evidence, but even so my Dad denies everything. If the bookkeeping had been in order, my Dad would have given me all the files straight away and explained them to me. But he only says, "I haven't got those files anymore," which sounds fishy to me. Why would anyone act like that if he hadn't done anything wrong? My father is trying to hide behind my boyfriend's past so as not to have to deal with this.
A few more "facts" (which I can prove) about my father. He hacked my Hotmail account, read my MSN chats with Robbie [supposedly to find incriminating material on Robbie], and forwarded them to me. When I asked him how he'd gotten hold of them, he said, "They were blown in by the wind." He has deleted a whole lot of things from my laptop (photos and videos of the last 10 years: Gymnastics stuff, family photos, absolutely EVERYTHING). He has also erased my external hard drive, which contained backups of the photos I had at home. They've thrown away presents, clothes, and shoes my boyfriend had given to me, because "they couldn't bear to look at them anymore." But they wouldn't let me come and pick them up; instead they changed the locks. My father says the door is always open for me, but it's not! When I show up at their house, they'll simply sit on the couch, shaking their heads - "No, we're not letting you in." They had my things moved from Elst [where her coach, with whom she used to live, lives] to Waddinxveen [where her parents live] without even telling me, even though I was planning to move them myself 3 days later. Then they sent me the removal firm's bill: €800! They changed the locks and sent me the bill: €200. As if I'd asked them to do that!
(photo taken from Verona's website)
My boyfriend has nothing to do with the money matter. All that money disappeared before I met him. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, I won prize money, thousands of euros' worth of prize money. In addition, I had a sponsor, who gave me quite a bit of money [in the Revu interview published last week, Verona stated her sponsor gave her "several tens of thousands of euros per year"]. But at the end of the year I was always told we'd run out of money.
That I have a boyfriend who is much older than me is my business. I knew about his shady past before my Dad told me about it, but I didn't hold it against him. He freely admits [he has a shady past] and knows it will always be used against him. But I'm a grownup and I make my own choices. It's just that no one seems to respect those choices. He's not using me and he doesn't control me, as everyone seems to believe. When I first met Robbie, things weren't easy, but once we got to know each other, things began to improve, and now we're doing really well.
Many tens of thousands of euros have disappeared without my consent. There were days €1,000 disappeared while I was busy training, so it can't have been me. Apparently I gifted my parents €5,000 on several occasions. [In the Revu interview she mentions a €30,000 "gift" of which she wasn't aware.] I paid for their Internet even though I wasn't living with them, I paid their phone bills, their sunbed, computer monitors, dinners, etc. They had a ball with my cash card, which I myself have never touched (I don't even know the PIN code). And again, this is not just a "fact" somebody posted on a website. I can prove it.
I've been invited to make an appearance on Pauw & Witteman [Holland's most highly rated talkshow], and I'd like to go, if my father agrees to be there with me and tell his side of the story (with his evidence). So Dad, if you're reading this, let me know how you feel about it!
Of course my parents' life turned into a mess after Robbie entered my life, because now the truth has come out. Rather than admit they're guilty, they're hiding behind Robbie's past, in the hope that this will distract people from realizing that it was they, my parents, who used me all those years.
(photo taken from Verona's website)
I could list more complaints, but I'll stick to this for the time being, as the case will probably go to court later. If my father remains this stubborn.
Why wouldn't they give me my stuff when I'm at their door, almost begging for it? I just want my medals back, and my other things.
As to my website (veronavandeleur.nl), it wasn't taken off line because of "threats." That website was run by someone who paid for it and let me make my own entries. When I quit, we agreed to keep the site on line for 2 more months, until summer, for some final responses. When those 2 months were over, I rang the guy and asked him to take the site off line. I was told that he had agreed with my father to keep it on line for one more year. I wasn't consulted on the matter. But I wanted the site off line because I was well and truly done with gymnastics. There wouldn't be any new photos or updates, so why keep it? With a lot of effort I got the site off line. Within a month, there was another site on line (verona.turnt.nl), created by none other than my Dad! Without my consent! I asked him repeatedly to delete the site as I don't approve of some of the things he's posted, but he simply refused. So he can call it a threat for all I care, but if he wants a website, let him create his own site rather than one about me. If I want a site about me, I'll create one myself, and I'll keep the password. But right now, he's posting pictures etc. without my consent. So Dad, if you're reading this, this is another request that you remove my site from the Internet. If I want my own website, I'll get it myself, thank you very much.
Finally, I'd like to point out that it wasn't my choice not to contact anyone in the gymnastics world after my retirement, as my father claims. Rather he was the first to tell his story, and now no one will believe me when I try to tell my side of the story, and people are taking his side no matter what I say. My response? If that's the case, so be it.
I'm taking a break right now, but you'll see me or hear of me later doing something in connection with the greatest passion of my life: Gymnastics. Gymnastics will always be a special part of my life. Because despite everything, I'm very proud of everything I've achieved.
Our verdict?
Some nasty allegations here. We can see why Verona's parents would be worried; we wouldn't be thrilled either if our daughter went out with a much older man with a criminal record. If it's true that Robbie has abused Verona (and Verona would seem to admit that - "When I first met Robbie, things weren't easy"), we can understand why Verona's parents would do their best to drive a wedge between them. We'd probably try and do the same thing ourselves. At the same time we feel that Verona may be right when she says that her parents are harping on Robbie's past to cover up the fact that they stole her money. They probably resent Robbie for helping their daughter to uncover the truth about that. Then again, they may be right when they imply that Robbie only made enquiries into Verona's financial situation because he was after her money himself. But then again, the love birds do look reasonably happy in the pictures. Is this a complicated situation or what?
Anyway, if Verona is telling the truth (she certainly made an honest impression in the TV interview she gave last week), her parents' actions can't be condoned. Using your child's money for your own ends without telling her is wrong. Lying about it is worse. Hacking your child's laptop, reading her private correspondence, and deleting 10 years' worth of photos and videos is simply horrible. And sending her the bill for locks intended to keep her out of the house is, well, ridiculous. If it's true.
Either way, the Van de Leur case is characterized by an awful lot of public mud-slinging. As much as we like reporting on scandals, we think the Van de Leurs should exercize some restraint and resolve this situation behind closed doors. We hope the joint appearance on the country's biggest talkshow which Verona suggested won't come to pass, even if it would make for spectacular TV. Private issues like this shouldn't be dealt with on national TV. They should be dealt with in private.
And Verona, honey? Next time you write a public refutal, you may want to take some time to structure it and have someone proofread it. Yours is a terribly disjointed story, and your grammar needs some work too. Don't let your indignation get the better of your professionalism, will you? Even if you have good reason to be indignant, which we think you may.
Undoubtedly to be continued.
A few days ago we told you that former Dutch star Verona van de Leur, who became an overnight sensation in 2002, then struggled a bit after a growth spurt, was having a very public row with her parents. Among other things, she was accusing her parents of having used up all her money and trying to make life difficult for her and her boyfriend Robbie, who is much older than herself and has a criminal record. According to Verona, her parents spent thousands of euros that she had either won or been given by her sponsor, then hacked her computer, read her private correspondence, deleted 10 years' worth of photos and videos, threw away many of her belongings, and poisoned everyone against her and her boyfriend. It was a nasty story, but she seemed truthful enough telling it.
Verona during the 2008 European Championships, when things got a little too much for her. She retired soon afterwards. (Photo: Robin Utrecht/ANP)
Anyhow, the day we posted that report, Verona's father posted the following statement on a website, in a comment to an article about Verona's allegations. We're going to quote the entire thing.
"The Rotten Life of Verona van de Leur"
The Real Story!
The bad stuff began when Robbie R. (born 1969) entered our daughter's life [according to Verona, this happened about a year ago]. Fact is, Robbie R. is a criminal with a history of violence and weapon abuse. Fact is, he has threatened us. Fact is, he will have to appear before a Court of Justice for these deeds. Fact is, our front door has been kicked in and two windows at the front of our house have been smashed. Fact is, the same thing happened at the house of Verona's coach. Fact is, this man has been convicted of violence and has done time in prison. Fact is, the police are aware of this. Fact is, she has been abused. Fact is, this is not the first time he has abused someone. Fact is, this man seems a very intimidating guy to have for a "son-in-law." Fact is that his intimidation and threats got so bad that we felt obliged and were adviced to limit access to our house, for our own safety and Verona's sister's.
Verona's father went on to say:
Verona has fallen into the hands of someone who only wants money, at the expense of our daughter. She is being controlled by him and is being kept from her loved ones by him, so that she can't contact her friends in the gymnastics world. The veronavandeleur.nl website has been taken off line because of threats. Her accountant has been threatened too. As a top-level gymnast, you earn next to nothing in Holland. [We assume he's saying this to demonstrate that Verona HAD no money to steal.] We hope our daughter Verona will come to her senses and leave this criminal. Verona is not the only one leading a rotten life; we, her parents and sister, are also having a rotten time of it! And of course the door will always be open for Verona [if she wants to come back].
Which got him an equally public response from Verona, clearly written in great haste...
Anyone can present "facts" on line like my father has done, but I have evidence! My father has cameras in his house, "for safety reasons." If my boyfriend Robbie had really smashed any windows and kicked in the door, my father would have it all on tape. Robbie was arrested because my father filed an intimidation complaint. Robbie was really angry when he heard that my father had emptied my laptop, thrown away the presents Robbie had given me, and locked me out again when I came to pick up my things. He was so angry that he went to their house with a baseball bat. He just wanted to get my stuff back for me. He was sick of my parents doing things like that to their own child, but he left without doing anything (as the videos will prove). Robbie told his story at the police office, after which even the police realized that my father only wanted to have my boyfriend locked up so that he could say, "You see? He's a bad man!" The police let him go straight away because there was no evidence whatsoever that he'd done anything. No doors were kicked in anywhere. If any windows were smashed at my parents' house, there might have been other reasons for that. At any rate, Robbie wasn't involved in that. Robbie actually said, "First call the police and ask them what they can do to help you to get your things back," and he always waited for me around the corner when I went there, not coming to the house with me, as he didn't want to look provocative. He knew my parents would call the police if he showed up. But they never let me in, not even when I was alone or showed up with the police, as I did a few times. This is all known to the police; they have it all on file.
Verona and Robbie (photo taken from Verona's website)
My father is simply trying EVERYTHING to get me to leave my boyfriend, because my family doesn't approve of him. When I told them I wanted to stay with my boyfriend, they told me, "It's either us, your family, or your boyfriend." I told them I couldn't choose. So now they've made my choice for me, by changing the locks, refusing to answer the phone when I call, and not opening the door when I show up. I asked my father to show me my entire bookkeeping, but he refused to give it to me. So Robbie called the accountant and asked him very politely [that is to say, not in an intimidating manner, as Verona's father claims] if he could have a look at the bookkeeping. The accountant was kind enough to send it to us. But the accountant didn't have all the files (my father had some at home). So we started digging in what the accountant did send me, and we have a lot of evidence, but even so my Dad denies everything. If the bookkeeping had been in order, my Dad would have given me all the files straight away and explained them to me. But he only says, "I haven't got those files anymore," which sounds fishy to me. Why would anyone act like that if he hadn't done anything wrong? My father is trying to hide behind my boyfriend's past so as not to have to deal with this.
A few more "facts" (which I can prove) about my father. He hacked my Hotmail account, read my MSN chats with Robbie [supposedly to find incriminating material on Robbie], and forwarded them to me. When I asked him how he'd gotten hold of them, he said, "They were blown in by the wind." He has deleted a whole lot of things from my laptop (photos and videos of the last 10 years: Gymnastics stuff, family photos, absolutely EVERYTHING). He has also erased my external hard drive, which contained backups of the photos I had at home. They've thrown away presents, clothes, and shoes my boyfriend had given to me, because "they couldn't bear to look at them anymore." But they wouldn't let me come and pick them up; instead they changed the locks. My father says the door is always open for me, but it's not! When I show up at their house, they'll simply sit on the couch, shaking their heads - "No, we're not letting you in." They had my things moved from Elst [where her coach, with whom she used to live, lives] to Waddinxveen [where her parents live] without even telling me, even though I was planning to move them myself 3 days later. Then they sent me the removal firm's bill: €800! They changed the locks and sent me the bill: €200. As if I'd asked them to do that!
(photo taken from Verona's website)
My boyfriend has nothing to do with the money matter. All that money disappeared before I met him. In 2001, 2002, and 2003, I won prize money, thousands of euros' worth of prize money. In addition, I had a sponsor, who gave me quite a bit of money [in the Revu interview published last week, Verona stated her sponsor gave her "several tens of thousands of euros per year"]. But at the end of the year I was always told we'd run out of money.
That I have a boyfriend who is much older than me is my business. I knew about his shady past before my Dad told me about it, but I didn't hold it against him. He freely admits [he has a shady past] and knows it will always be used against him. But I'm a grownup and I make my own choices. It's just that no one seems to respect those choices. He's not using me and he doesn't control me, as everyone seems to believe. When I first met Robbie, things weren't easy, but once we got to know each other, things began to improve, and now we're doing really well.
Many tens of thousands of euros have disappeared without my consent. There were days €1,000 disappeared while I was busy training, so it can't have been me. Apparently I gifted my parents €5,000 on several occasions. [In the Revu interview she mentions a €30,000 "gift" of which she wasn't aware.] I paid for their Internet even though I wasn't living with them, I paid their phone bills, their sunbed, computer monitors, dinners, etc. They had a ball with my cash card, which I myself have never touched (I don't even know the PIN code). And again, this is not just a "fact" somebody posted on a website. I can prove it.
I've been invited to make an appearance on Pauw & Witteman [Holland's most highly rated talkshow], and I'd like to go, if my father agrees to be there with me and tell his side of the story (with his evidence). So Dad, if you're reading this, let me know how you feel about it!
Of course my parents' life turned into a mess after Robbie entered my life, because now the truth has come out. Rather than admit they're guilty, they're hiding behind Robbie's past, in the hope that this will distract people from realizing that it was they, my parents, who used me all those years.
(photo taken from Verona's website)
I could list more complaints, but I'll stick to this for the time being, as the case will probably go to court later. If my father remains this stubborn.
Why wouldn't they give me my stuff when I'm at their door, almost begging for it? I just want my medals back, and my other things.
As to my website (veronavandeleur.nl), it wasn't taken off line because of "threats." That website was run by someone who paid for it and let me make my own entries. When I quit, we agreed to keep the site on line for 2 more months, until summer, for some final responses. When those 2 months were over, I rang the guy and asked him to take the site off line. I was told that he had agreed with my father to keep it on line for one more year. I wasn't consulted on the matter. But I wanted the site off line because I was well and truly done with gymnastics. There wouldn't be any new photos or updates, so why keep it? With a lot of effort I got the site off line. Within a month, there was another site on line (verona.turnt.nl), created by none other than my Dad! Without my consent! I asked him repeatedly to delete the site as I don't approve of some of the things he's posted, but he simply refused. So he can call it a threat for all I care, but if he wants a website, let him create his own site rather than one about me. If I want a site about me, I'll create one myself, and I'll keep the password. But right now, he's posting pictures etc. without my consent. So Dad, if you're reading this, this is another request that you remove my site from the Internet. If I want my own website, I'll get it myself, thank you very much.
Finally, I'd like to point out that it wasn't my choice not to contact anyone in the gymnastics world after my retirement, as my father claims. Rather he was the first to tell his story, and now no one will believe me when I try to tell my side of the story, and people are taking his side no matter what I say. My response? If that's the case, so be it.
I'm taking a break right now, but you'll see me or hear of me later doing something in connection with the greatest passion of my life: Gymnastics. Gymnastics will always be a special part of my life. Because despite everything, I'm very proud of everything I've achieved.
Our verdict?
Some nasty allegations here. We can see why Verona's parents would be worried; we wouldn't be thrilled either if our daughter went out with a much older man with a criminal record. If it's true that Robbie has abused Verona (and Verona would seem to admit that - "When I first met Robbie, things weren't easy"), we can understand why Verona's parents would do their best to drive a wedge between them. We'd probably try and do the same thing ourselves. At the same time we feel that Verona may be right when she says that her parents are harping on Robbie's past to cover up the fact that they stole her money. They probably resent Robbie for helping their daughter to uncover the truth about that. Then again, they may be right when they imply that Robbie only made enquiries into Verona's financial situation because he was after her money himself. But then again, the love birds do look reasonably happy in the pictures. Is this a complicated situation or what?
Anyway, if Verona is telling the truth (she certainly made an honest impression in the TV interview she gave last week), her parents' actions can't be condoned. Using your child's money for your own ends without telling her is wrong. Lying about it is worse. Hacking your child's laptop, reading her private correspondence, and deleting 10 years' worth of photos and videos is simply horrible. And sending her the bill for locks intended to keep her out of the house is, well, ridiculous. If it's true.
Either way, the Van de Leur case is characterized by an awful lot of public mud-slinging. As much as we like reporting on scandals, we think the Van de Leurs should exercize some restraint and resolve this situation behind closed doors. We hope the joint appearance on the country's biggest talkshow which Verona suggested won't come to pass, even if it would make for spectacular TV. Private issues like this shouldn't be dealt with on national TV. They should be dealt with in private.
And Verona, honey? Next time you write a public refutal, you may want to take some time to structure it and have someone proofread it. Yours is a terribly disjointed story, and your grammar needs some work too. Don't let your indignation get the better of your professionalism, will you? Even if you have good reason to be indignant, which we think you may.
Undoubtedly to be continued.
November 20, 2008
And the Scandals Just Keep On Coming...
We can hardly believe it ourselves, but it seems we've got another scandal for you. Admittedly it's not as big as the Karolyi and Brazilian scandals, but it's a scandal, and as such we think it is our duty to fill you in on it. (Feel free to send us happy gymnastics stories if you're fed up with the scandals. We'd dearly like to post a cheerful and uplifting story for once!)
The protagonist of today's scandal is Verona van de Leur, who placed 2nd AA at the 2002 Europeans and 2nd on floor at the 2002 Worlds, after which she was voted Holland's Athlete of the Year (an honor which had never been bestowed on a Dutch gymnast before). Verona quit gymnastics last summer after an emotionally fraught period during which her coach, Esther Heijnen, was sacked from her club, and her former coach Frank Louter played mind games with her at the Europeans. On June 19 Verona announced her retirement, saying it was partly because of the "political games" played by the Dutch Gymnastics Federation in Clermont-Ferrand, and partly because of "personal reasons." At the time she declined to elaborate on the latter.
Fast-forward half a year and Verona van de Leur is breaking her silence on those "personal reasons." Yesterday morning the former Dutch champion, who will turn 23 next month, appeared on a breakfast show called Goedemorgen Nederland (Good Morning Holland), telling a story of parental estrangement of which Dominique Moceanu would have been proud. In addition to the TV show, a Dutch magazine called Revu has published an article entitled "Verona van de Leur's Rotten Life." We haven't read the magazine yet, but thanks to Heidemarie's mad linguistic skills (no jokes please), we got a transcript of the TV interview.
In the Goedemorgen Nederland interview Verona accuses her parents of several things. Her main accusation is that her parents don't approve of her boyfriend, who apparently has a criminal record, and have turned everyone they know against the couple; supposedly even Verona's coach isn't speaking to her anymore. Another, equally damaging allegation is that her parents used her prize money and sponsorship deals for their own ends, without ever consulting her on the matter.
Allegedly Verona's parents managed her money for the greater part of her career. According to Verona, they paid her gymnastics fees but also helped themselves to large chunks of her income, using Verona's money to pay for her sister's gym fees, contact lenses, and school books; her father's soccer club membership dues; her parents' gas; trips abroad; and so on. Some of which would have been okay, Verona says, if they hadn't done it behind her back. "They made it sound as if they were doing a lot for me - 'Never mind, we don't mind sacrificing a bit for you' - but all the while I was paying for it myself, and paying for their things too," said Verona. And it seems all the money is gone now. "I keeping asking my Dad where the money went - I have certain things in writing - but he won't tell me anything." Verona's father reportedly denies the allegations, claiming that all the money was spent on Verona's gymnastics fees - magnesium powder, leos, travel expenses, etc.
Verona accuses her parents of other things too. Her father allegedly broke into her laptop and Hotmail account to find incriminating material on her boyfriend, of whom he doesn't approve. In the fracas ensuing over that, her parents reportedly threw her out of the house without any of her belongings and changed the locks so she couldn't enter the house. They now call the police whenever she tries to come near the house. Says Verona, "I've spent about seven hours at the police station trying to explain the situation, but they can't help me either."
Verona and the controversial boyfriend (photo: Revu)
The breakfast show featured some less serious accusations as well. Allegedly Verona's mother was "very result-oriented" and would refuse to pick her daughter up from the airport if she had failed to get good results in an overseas competition. "I'd be abroad and after an unsatisfactory competition I'd receive a text message saying, 'You'll just have to grab a train home tomorrow.' All the other girls would be picked up from the airport by their parents, but I'd have to take a train home."
In the end, the family drama proved a little too much for Verona. While it was "the political games" played at the Europeans that were the final straw, it was the lack of family support that really upset her. "If my parents had supported me, all that [the coaching situation, the games played at the Europeans] would have been much easier to deal with," said Verona in the TV interview. As it was, "it was an enormous mental burden. I just couldn't deal with it anymore." So she quit.
Asked about her plans for the future, Verona answered that she would first have to gain a full understanding of her situation, then "start all over again." She added that it would be very hard to start over, without any money or the help of her family.
Good luck with that, Verona. We hope you and your family will patch it up eventually, like the Moceanus.
The protagonist of today's scandal is Verona van de Leur, who placed 2nd AA at the 2002 Europeans and 2nd on floor at the 2002 Worlds, after which she was voted Holland's Athlete of the Year (an honor which had never been bestowed on a Dutch gymnast before). Verona quit gymnastics last summer after an emotionally fraught period during which her coach, Esther Heijnen, was sacked from her club, and her former coach Frank Louter played mind games with her at the Europeans. On June 19 Verona announced her retirement, saying it was partly because of the "political games" played by the Dutch Gymnastics Federation in Clermont-Ferrand, and partly because of "personal reasons." At the time she declined to elaborate on the latter.
Fast-forward half a year and Verona van de Leur is breaking her silence on those "personal reasons." Yesterday morning the former Dutch champion, who will turn 23 next month, appeared on a breakfast show called Goedemorgen Nederland (Good Morning Holland), telling a story of parental estrangement of which Dominique Moceanu would have been proud. In addition to the TV show, a Dutch magazine called Revu has published an article entitled "Verona van de Leur's Rotten Life." We haven't read the magazine yet, but thanks to Heidemarie's mad linguistic skills (no jokes please), we got a transcript of the TV interview.
In the Goedemorgen Nederland interview Verona accuses her parents of several things. Her main accusation is that her parents don't approve of her boyfriend, who apparently has a criminal record, and have turned everyone they know against the couple; supposedly even Verona's coach isn't speaking to her anymore. Another, equally damaging allegation is that her parents used her prize money and sponsorship deals for their own ends, without ever consulting her on the matter.
Allegedly Verona's parents managed her money for the greater part of her career. According to Verona, they paid her gymnastics fees but also helped themselves to large chunks of her income, using Verona's money to pay for her sister's gym fees, contact lenses, and school books; her father's soccer club membership dues; her parents' gas; trips abroad; and so on. Some of which would have been okay, Verona says, if they hadn't done it behind her back. "They made it sound as if they were doing a lot for me - 'Never mind, we don't mind sacrificing a bit for you' - but all the while I was paying for it myself, and paying for their things too," said Verona. And it seems all the money is gone now. "I keeping asking my Dad where the money went - I have certain things in writing - but he won't tell me anything." Verona's father reportedly denies the allegations, claiming that all the money was spent on Verona's gymnastics fees - magnesium powder, leos, travel expenses, etc.
Verona accuses her parents of other things too. Her father allegedly broke into her laptop and Hotmail account to find incriminating material on her boyfriend, of whom he doesn't approve. In the fracas ensuing over that, her parents reportedly threw her out of the house without any of her belongings and changed the locks so she couldn't enter the house. They now call the police whenever she tries to come near the house. Says Verona, "I've spent about seven hours at the police station trying to explain the situation, but they can't help me either."
Verona and the controversial boyfriend (photo: Revu)
The breakfast show featured some less serious accusations as well. Allegedly Verona's mother was "very result-oriented" and would refuse to pick her daughter up from the airport if she had failed to get good results in an overseas competition. "I'd be abroad and after an unsatisfactory competition I'd receive a text message saying, 'You'll just have to grab a train home tomorrow.' All the other girls would be picked up from the airport by their parents, but I'd have to take a train home."
In the end, the family drama proved a little too much for Verona. While it was "the political games" played at the Europeans that were the final straw, it was the lack of family support that really upset her. "If my parents had supported me, all that [the coaching situation, the games played at the Europeans] would have been much easier to deal with," said Verona in the TV interview. As it was, "it was an enormous mental burden. I just couldn't deal with it anymore." So she quit.
Asked about her plans for the future, Verona answered that she would first have to gain a full understanding of her situation, then "start all over again." She added that it would be very hard to start over, without any money or the help of her family.
Good luck with that, Verona. We hope you and your family will patch it up eventually, like the Moceanus.
November 19, 2008
The Karolyi Scandal: A Few Contributions by Adrian Goreac, Ecaterina Szabo and Rodica Dunca
While we were busy following the Brazilian scandal, another scandal made headlines elsewhere. As we're sure you've read by now (if not, check out Gymblog), former Romanian national team member Emilia Eberle (a contemporary of Nadia Comaneci's, now known as Trudi Kollar) has denounced Bela Karolyi, accusing him of very harsh treatment indeed. She's not the first former Romanian gymnast to speak out on Karolyi's brutish ways; earlier, Rodica Dunca, Melita Ruhn and Ecaterina Szabo gave interviews in which they mentioned being starved, slapped, beaten up or otherwise abused by Karolyi, and last year even Adrian Goreac, Karolyi's successor as Romania's head coach, indicated that all was not well in Deva when Karolyi ruled there (more on that below). What's different now is that Geza Pozsar, the former Romanian team choreographer and probably Bela Karolyi's closest collaborator (other than his wife Martha), has confirmed Eberle's story, and added a few convincing details of his own. Moreover, the stories have been picked up by the American media, which could lead to an interesting situation. Will this be the end of the Karolyis' career in American gymnastics? Somehow we doubt it. U.S.A.G. has stood by the Karolyis too long. The organization would bring itself into disrepute by launching an investigation into them.
Bela and Martha Karolyi (photo: Romanian-gymnastics.com)
As far as we're concerned, it should be the end of the Karolyis, though. We've been hearing for years about their brutal training methods, both from Romanian gymnasts and (to some extent) from American gymnasts. The reports were quite consistent, and consistently awful. Based on those reports, we don't think people like the Karolyis should be put in charge of children, much less be revered for the way they treat those children. So we're going to present you with a few choice quotes about the Karolyis from three people who worked with them in Romania and were brave enough to speak up: Adrian Goreac, Rodica Dunca, and Ecaterina Szabo. To back up the Eberle and Pozsar stories, so to speak.
Firstly, let's hear from Adrian Goreac, the man who took over from the Karolyis when they defected to America. Under Goreac, the Romanian team blossomed. It was the era of Ecaterina Szabo, Lavinia Agache, Daniela Silivas, Aurelia Dobre, and Gabriela Potorac - the Golden Age of Romanian gymnastics, or so many fans believe.
In December 2007, Adrian Goreac (who left Romania in 1990 after a conflict with the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and has lived in France ever since) granted two interviews to Romanian newspapers about his days in charge of the team and the reasons for his departure. In the interviews, he also touched upon his predecessor, Bela Karolyi. If anyone is interested, we'll post translations of the whole interviews at some point, but for now we're going to focus on the passages which have a bearing on Karolyi.
Adrian Goreac (left) receives a presidential distinction in 2007 (photo: Romanian-gymnastics.com)
The first interview, published by Evenimentul Zilei on December 8, 2007, has a headline which says it all: "Bela Karolyi was a dictator."
Evenimentul Zilei: "Let's start at the beginning. What was the team like after Karolyi's defection?"
Adrian Goreac: "It was a difficult moment, because the team had just come back from the [1981] World Championships in Russia, where it had failed to win a single medal. Nadia Comaneci and her contemporaries had reached the end of their careers. I asked them what they wanted, and they told me they wanted to stay in Deva to continue their education. I moved them [from the gymnasts' hostel] to the Party hotel. Tavi Belu, who was my second in command, had more to do with them than I. Slowly, Ecaterina Szabo, Daniela Silivas, Aurelia Dobre, and the others began to emerge."
Evenimentul Zilei: "So you basically rebuilt the team?"
Adrian Goreac: "I wouldn't say that. Romania had excellent club coaches all along, who provided us with our 'raw material.' However, Bela Karolyi had halted other coaches' access to the national teams, because he was completely in charge. I opened the door to them and relied much on other coaches. I only wanted one thing: To demonstrate that there was more to Romanian gymnastics than Nadia and Bela. I don't know whether I succeeded, but I do know that my girls were less tormented than Nadia."
Yep, the man said "tormented."
Bela Karolyi (photo: Gazeta Sporturilor)
Then there's this bit:
Evenimentul Zilei: "Was life at the Deva center as tough as they say?"
Adrian Goreac: "You could say it was a soldierly regime, but the girls knew that and accepted it. [Note: We think he's talking about his own term as head coach here, not Karolyi's.] Romanian gymnastics began to slip after Bela Karolyi. Don't get me wrong, I don't envy him, but he was tough, a dictator. He wasn't a specialist, but I've always admired him for his incredible drive, workwise. He was a success because he had an exception: Nadia. I won't lie to you, I also shouted at the girls and sometimes gave them a parental slap, but only when I caught them trafficking wine, cigarettes, etc. I abhor violence and never hit any gymnast for a mistake she made in the gym. But one way or another, on top of [Karolyi's] perseverance and hard work, there was talk of brutishness, which here and there is still going on today."
(Goreac uses a very strong word for "brutishness": bestialitate.)
Evenimentul Zilei: "In what respect was Bela Karolyi a dictator?"
Adrian Goreac: "Bela had oligarchic tendencies, because he had tasted power. In the end he could even pick the Securitate officials who accompanied the team on trips abroad! He had connections. He was a friend of Ilie Verdet's [a high-ranking politican of the time, also brother-in-law to Nicolae Ceausescu], with whom he went hunting. He made himself indispensable and built a mob around himself. After Montreal, every country on earth wanted Nadia to come and do exhibitions, but often the money the organizers of such events paid ended up in the pockets of Karolyi and his cronies. Some 20,000 to 30,000 dollars, it was rumored. It went to his head. He would give high-ranking communists instructions, telling them: 'If that doesn't suit you, why don't you come to the gym tomorrow yourself!' He'd fill his Mercedes up at the gas station and tell the assistants to send the bill to the provincial authorities! It infuriated the Securitate. When Bela felt that things were getting complicated, he stayed in the United States, with a suitcase full of money from the the tour they were on. He'd gotten scared."
This seems to jive with the stories Emilia Eberle and Geza Pozsar just told the Romanian media. The similarities are remarkable.
In a way, even Octavian Belu, no stranger to harsh training methods himself, subtly admitted that something was not entirely right about Karolyi's methods. Asked for a response to Goreac's allegations about Karolyi, the ever diplomatic Belu told Evenimentul Zilei: "Everybody assumes responsibility for his own declarations. I don't want to enter into this controversy. All I want to say is that we have Nadia, and that we owe her to the Karolyis."
We don't know about you, but we read that as a "guilty as charged."
Ecaterina Szabo (photo: Getty Images)
But there's more.
A few months ago, Goreac and Belu's pupil Ecaterina Szabo (1983 world champion on floor and quadruple gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics) also had some unkind words to say about the Karolyis. In an interview with the Romanian magazine Fanatik, Szabo, who as a promising junior was on the American tour from which the Karolyis defected, had this to say about the man with whom she briefly trained before becoming a star: "We were still in America in 1981 when the Karolyis stayed behind. I remember that we returned to Romania on April 1, 1981, and I was so happy on the plane that I'd escaped them! We partied so hard that the flight attendants were no match for us and I believed the plane might crash with us aboard. I'll never forget the slaps in the face and the beatings I got from Bela Karolyi!"
She doesn't go into detail, but there's no mistaking that last sentence.
(If anyone is interested in the whole Szabo interview, let us know and we'll translate it.)
However, until Emilia Eberle and Geza Pozsar's allegations, the most damning indictment of the Karolyis came courtesy of Rodica Dunca, who represented Romania at the 1979 and 1981 World Championships and the 1980 Olympics. We couldn't find the original interview, which we believe was published by ProSport in 2002, but we found excerpts of it reproduced in a Romanian blog. Translated, they read as follows:
Asked by the journalist whether Karolyi's methods were tough, Dunca answered, "I think 'tough' isn't the right word when you're lucky if you escape with merely a beating. Some days we were beaten until the blood streamed out of our noses. Hunger was our eternal enemy."
Rodica Dunca and Nadia Comaneci in 1983, two years after the Karolyis defected. They looked considerably happier then than they had before. (Photo: Tom Theobald)
The blog continues: And then she tells shocking stories, with revelations about girls fleeing from training camps and Securitate officials arresting 13- and 14-year-old girls in stations, forcing them to go back to the "prison" in Deva. About the threats they received on their return to Deva: That if they ever tried to escape again, their parents would suffer for it. We hear how Nadia Comaneci hid in an unused toilet for three days because she was so afraid of her coach. But the most frightening passage in Rodica Dunca's confessions is this:
"Because of hunger, we often put ourselves in extreme situations. And the methods by which they kept us away from food probably could have killed us."
ProSport: "What were those methods?"
Rodica Dunca: "I remember that in 1979, before the Fort Worth World Championships, Nadia was a few pounds too heavy. We were on a training camp in Germany. Geza Pozsar, our choregrapher, and Bela Karolyi slept in our room with us. In front of the door to the toilet. When we needed to go to the toilet, we had to pee with the door open."
ProSport: "Why?"
Rodica Dunca: "They were afraid that we'd somehow drink water. But we'd go into the bathroom, do what we had to do and wait a while before flushing the toilet. We'd climb onto the toilet with a glass in our hands and drink from the overhead cistern. That's how we drank our fill."
ProSport: "You could have gotten some disease that way."
Rodica Dunca: "That didn't matter. The same thing happened when we took a shower. They kept an eye on us, and we weren't allowed to raise our chins, so we couldn't ingest any water."
ProSport: "What did you eat before competitions?"
Rodica Dunca: "In the morning we'd get one slice of salami, two nuts, and a glass of milk. In the evening we'd get the same menu, only without the nuts."
ProSport: "Did you ever eat to your heart's content?"
Rodica Dunca: "Only twice in my career as a gymnast."
ProSport: "Just twice?"
Rodica Dunca: "No, actually, there was a third time. We were at an exhibition in Spain. One time we left the hotel. I don't know why the coaches weren't around at the time. At a few meters' distance from the building there was a field of strawberries. We all swooped down on them like termites and ate as many strawberries as we wanted. But it came out later, because the owner of the strawberries made a scene at the hotel."
ProSport: "Did you ever suffer any serious health problems?"
Rodica Dunca: "Many times. Broken feet, a broken shoulder, among other things. I remember that when we began to menstruate, the assistant took us to her office and gave us an injection. The injection probably contained hormones, because after that, I didn't menstruate for almost two years. The same thing happened to the other girls."
Rodica Dunca (photo: Tom Theobald)
ProSport: "What kind of pills did you take?"
Rodica Dunca: "We didn't actually take any pills ourselves; they practically shoved them down our throats! The assistant would stand next to everyone to make sure we swallowed the pills. In the morning we'd get 14 pills, for lunch we'd get 20 pills and 4 little envelopes full of powder, and in the evening we'd get 10 pills. I still don't know what kind of pills they were, but after I left gymnastics, I had problems."
ProSport: What kind of problems?
Rodica Dunca: "I was dependent on them, and afterwards I was forced to buy [the pills] for another year. The pharmacist crossed himself when he saw how much I could ingest."
So there you have it. Add all these quotes to the stories told by Emilia Eberle and Geza Pozsar, and you should have enough material for a serious investigation, we should think.
Not that we're holding our breath.
Bela and Martha Karolyi (photo: Romanian-gymnastics.com)
As far as we're concerned, it should be the end of the Karolyis, though. We've been hearing for years about their brutal training methods, both from Romanian gymnasts and (to some extent) from American gymnasts. The reports were quite consistent, and consistently awful. Based on those reports, we don't think people like the Karolyis should be put in charge of children, much less be revered for the way they treat those children. So we're going to present you with a few choice quotes about the Karolyis from three people who worked with them in Romania and were brave enough to speak up: Adrian Goreac, Rodica Dunca, and Ecaterina Szabo. To back up the Eberle and Pozsar stories, so to speak.
Firstly, let's hear from Adrian Goreac, the man who took over from the Karolyis when they defected to America. Under Goreac, the Romanian team blossomed. It was the era of Ecaterina Szabo, Lavinia Agache, Daniela Silivas, Aurelia Dobre, and Gabriela Potorac - the Golden Age of Romanian gymnastics, or so many fans believe.
In December 2007, Adrian Goreac (who left Romania in 1990 after a conflict with the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and has lived in France ever since) granted two interviews to Romanian newspapers about his days in charge of the team and the reasons for his departure. In the interviews, he also touched upon his predecessor, Bela Karolyi. If anyone is interested, we'll post translations of the whole interviews at some point, but for now we're going to focus on the passages which have a bearing on Karolyi.
Adrian Goreac (left) receives a presidential distinction in 2007 (photo: Romanian-gymnastics.com)
The first interview, published by Evenimentul Zilei on December 8, 2007, has a headline which says it all: "Bela Karolyi was a dictator."
Evenimentul Zilei: "Let's start at the beginning. What was the team like after Karolyi's defection?"
Adrian Goreac: "It was a difficult moment, because the team had just come back from the [1981] World Championships in Russia, where it had failed to win a single medal. Nadia Comaneci and her contemporaries had reached the end of their careers. I asked them what they wanted, and they told me they wanted to stay in Deva to continue their education. I moved them [from the gymnasts' hostel] to the Party hotel. Tavi Belu, who was my second in command, had more to do with them than I. Slowly, Ecaterina Szabo, Daniela Silivas, Aurelia Dobre, and the others began to emerge."
Evenimentul Zilei: "So you basically rebuilt the team?"
Adrian Goreac: "I wouldn't say that. Romania had excellent club coaches all along, who provided us with our 'raw material.' However, Bela Karolyi had halted other coaches' access to the national teams, because he was completely in charge. I opened the door to them and relied much on other coaches. I only wanted one thing: To demonstrate that there was more to Romanian gymnastics than Nadia and Bela. I don't know whether I succeeded, but I do know that my girls were less tormented than Nadia."
Yep, the man said "tormented."
Bela Karolyi (photo: Gazeta Sporturilor)
Then there's this bit:
Evenimentul Zilei: "Was life at the Deva center as tough as they say?"
Adrian Goreac: "You could say it was a soldierly regime, but the girls knew that and accepted it. [Note: We think he's talking about his own term as head coach here, not Karolyi's.] Romanian gymnastics began to slip after Bela Karolyi. Don't get me wrong, I don't envy him, but he was tough, a dictator. He wasn't a specialist, but I've always admired him for his incredible drive, workwise. He was a success because he had an exception: Nadia. I won't lie to you, I also shouted at the girls and sometimes gave them a parental slap, but only when I caught them trafficking wine, cigarettes, etc. I abhor violence and never hit any gymnast for a mistake she made in the gym. But one way or another, on top of [Karolyi's] perseverance and hard work, there was talk of brutishness, which here and there is still going on today."
(Goreac uses a very strong word for "brutishness": bestialitate.)
Evenimentul Zilei: "In what respect was Bela Karolyi a dictator?"
Adrian Goreac: "Bela had oligarchic tendencies, because he had tasted power. In the end he could even pick the Securitate officials who accompanied the team on trips abroad! He had connections. He was a friend of Ilie Verdet's [a high-ranking politican of the time, also brother-in-law to Nicolae Ceausescu], with whom he went hunting. He made himself indispensable and built a mob around himself. After Montreal, every country on earth wanted Nadia to come and do exhibitions, but often the money the organizers of such events paid ended up in the pockets of Karolyi and his cronies. Some 20,000 to 30,000 dollars, it was rumored. It went to his head. He would give high-ranking communists instructions, telling them: 'If that doesn't suit you, why don't you come to the gym tomorrow yourself!' He'd fill his Mercedes up at the gas station and tell the assistants to send the bill to the provincial authorities! It infuriated the Securitate. When Bela felt that things were getting complicated, he stayed in the United States, with a suitcase full of money from the the tour they were on. He'd gotten scared."
This seems to jive with the stories Emilia Eberle and Geza Pozsar just told the Romanian media. The similarities are remarkable.
In a way, even Octavian Belu, no stranger to harsh training methods himself, subtly admitted that something was not entirely right about Karolyi's methods. Asked for a response to Goreac's allegations about Karolyi, the ever diplomatic Belu told Evenimentul Zilei: "Everybody assumes responsibility for his own declarations. I don't want to enter into this controversy. All I want to say is that we have Nadia, and that we owe her to the Karolyis."
We don't know about you, but we read that as a "guilty as charged."
Ecaterina Szabo (photo: Getty Images)
But there's more.
A few months ago, Goreac and Belu's pupil Ecaterina Szabo (1983 world champion on floor and quadruple gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics) also had some unkind words to say about the Karolyis. In an interview with the Romanian magazine Fanatik, Szabo, who as a promising junior was on the American tour from which the Karolyis defected, had this to say about the man with whom she briefly trained before becoming a star: "We were still in America in 1981 when the Karolyis stayed behind. I remember that we returned to Romania on April 1, 1981, and I was so happy on the plane that I'd escaped them! We partied so hard that the flight attendants were no match for us and I believed the plane might crash with us aboard. I'll never forget the slaps in the face and the beatings I got from Bela Karolyi!"
She doesn't go into detail, but there's no mistaking that last sentence.
(If anyone is interested in the whole Szabo interview, let us know and we'll translate it.)
However, until Emilia Eberle and Geza Pozsar's allegations, the most damning indictment of the Karolyis came courtesy of Rodica Dunca, who represented Romania at the 1979 and 1981 World Championships and the 1980 Olympics. We couldn't find the original interview, which we believe was published by ProSport in 2002, but we found excerpts of it reproduced in a Romanian blog. Translated, they read as follows:
Asked by the journalist whether Karolyi's methods were tough, Dunca answered, "I think 'tough' isn't the right word when you're lucky if you escape with merely a beating. Some days we were beaten until the blood streamed out of our noses. Hunger was our eternal enemy."
Rodica Dunca and Nadia Comaneci in 1983, two years after the Karolyis defected. They looked considerably happier then than they had before. (Photo: Tom Theobald)
The blog continues: And then she tells shocking stories, with revelations about girls fleeing from training camps and Securitate officials arresting 13- and 14-year-old girls in stations, forcing them to go back to the "prison" in Deva. About the threats they received on their return to Deva: That if they ever tried to escape again, their parents would suffer for it. We hear how Nadia Comaneci hid in an unused toilet for three days because she was so afraid of her coach. But the most frightening passage in Rodica Dunca's confessions is this:
"Because of hunger, we often put ourselves in extreme situations. And the methods by which they kept us away from food probably could have killed us."
ProSport: "What were those methods?"
Rodica Dunca: "I remember that in 1979, before the Fort Worth World Championships, Nadia was a few pounds too heavy. We were on a training camp in Germany. Geza Pozsar, our choregrapher, and Bela Karolyi slept in our room with us. In front of the door to the toilet. When we needed to go to the toilet, we had to pee with the door open."
ProSport: "Why?"
Rodica Dunca: "They were afraid that we'd somehow drink water. But we'd go into the bathroom, do what we had to do and wait a while before flushing the toilet. We'd climb onto the toilet with a glass in our hands and drink from the overhead cistern. That's how we drank our fill."
ProSport: "You could have gotten some disease that way."
Rodica Dunca: "That didn't matter. The same thing happened when we took a shower. They kept an eye on us, and we weren't allowed to raise our chins, so we couldn't ingest any water."
ProSport: "What did you eat before competitions?"
Rodica Dunca: "In the morning we'd get one slice of salami, two nuts, and a glass of milk. In the evening we'd get the same menu, only without the nuts."
ProSport: "Did you ever eat to your heart's content?"
Rodica Dunca: "Only twice in my career as a gymnast."
ProSport: "Just twice?"
Rodica Dunca: "No, actually, there was a third time. We were at an exhibition in Spain. One time we left the hotel. I don't know why the coaches weren't around at the time. At a few meters' distance from the building there was a field of strawberries. We all swooped down on them like termites and ate as many strawberries as we wanted. But it came out later, because the owner of the strawberries made a scene at the hotel."
ProSport: "Did you ever suffer any serious health problems?"
Rodica Dunca: "Many times. Broken feet, a broken shoulder, among other things. I remember that when we began to menstruate, the assistant took us to her office and gave us an injection. The injection probably contained hormones, because after that, I didn't menstruate for almost two years. The same thing happened to the other girls."
Rodica Dunca (photo: Tom Theobald)
ProSport: "What kind of pills did you take?"
Rodica Dunca: "We didn't actually take any pills ourselves; they practically shoved them down our throats! The assistant would stand next to everyone to make sure we swallowed the pills. In the morning we'd get 14 pills, for lunch we'd get 20 pills and 4 little envelopes full of powder, and in the evening we'd get 10 pills. I still don't know what kind of pills they were, but after I left gymnastics, I had problems."
ProSport: What kind of problems?
Rodica Dunca: "I was dependent on them, and afterwards I was forced to buy [the pills] for another year. The pharmacist crossed himself when he saw how much I could ingest."
So there you have it. Add all these quotes to the stories told by Emilia Eberle and Geza Pozsar, and you should have enough material for a serious investigation, we should think.
Not that we're holding our breath.
November 8, 2008
The Morning After the Day Before
Usually, couples who have just had a big and lavish wedding like to spend the next few weeks in a nice and secluded spot, enjoying each other's company and avoiding the outside world. Unfortunately, that privilege wasn't granted to Yang Wei and Yang Yun. The morning after the Yangs threw the massive party we reported on yesterday, they found themselves needing to give a press conference to justify that party, which apparently came in for a lot of criticism on the Chinese Internet. How's that for a smooth beginning to married life?
The Yangs at their press conference (Photo: Sports.Sina)
Sina reports that at 10 AM on the morning after their wedding, a bleary-eyed Yang Wei and Yang Yun received the press in their hotel to defend themselves against accusations of extravagance and reckless money-spending. The night before, it had been reported on the Internet that the bride's golden dress cost $4.4 million, her hot air balloon ride cost nearly $15,000, and the couple's bridal chamber at the hotel cost $4,000 per night, which many Chinese people thought a bit profligate.
"We ourselves didn't see [the criticism]," said Yang Wei at the press conference. "We were told by friends. As for whether it was a profligate wedding, we'd rather not say anything on that score. There are things you simply can't explain. All I wish to say is that Yang Yun and I really enjoyed our wedding."
They certainly looked like they did.
For her part, Yang Yun added, "We don't want to clear anything up today. We just want to say that not everything that was reported on the Internet is true."
She also said she never intended the wedding to get as huge as it did. "All we really wanted to do was to let everyone be a witness to our love. We hope that people will understand that."
To which her husband added, "This wedding attracted a lot of attention because it was held so shortly after the Olympics. If I had been a retired athlete, I doubt it would have attracted this much attention. We never intended to get so many people's attention. Our guests are all people from the gymnastics world. We just wanted to give them a nice and relaxing day, but now we're not so relaxed anymore."
Huang Yubin
Elsewhere, Yang Wei's coach Huang Yubin confirmed that the wedding was just what the Chinese gymnastics world needed. He said he didn't think people realized just how hard the Chinese teams had worked in order to win the Olympic team titles for a home audience. So it was great of the Yangs to give the athletes a chance to let their hair down. "It's a very rare opportunity," said Huang. "We haven't been this relaxed in years. Yang Wei's wedding was exactly the right occasion [to let off some steam]. [Li] Dashuang and Xiaoshuang are here too. You could say it's a big get-together for our gymnastics team, with several generations represented."
Huang went on to say that he hoped Yang Wei would not retire after his marriage, and that he felt Yang still had a few good years left in him. When a reporter asked if Yang, at 28, wasn't past his prime, Huang reminded him of Oksana Chusovitina, and said that Yang was still in very good shape.
Chen Yibing
Sina also quoted Yang's teammate Chen Yibing, who said, "Their wedding was very grand, very lively. But when I get married, it will be more low key." Chen also had an original idea for a future honeymoon: to visit the places where he's taken part in major championships. He specifically mentioned Brazil and Denmark. "It's a different way of doing things, but I think it's a nice one."
The Yangs at their press conference (Photo: Sports.Sina)
Sina reports that at 10 AM on the morning after their wedding, a bleary-eyed Yang Wei and Yang Yun received the press in their hotel to defend themselves against accusations of extravagance and reckless money-spending. The night before, it had been reported on the Internet that the bride's golden dress cost $4.4 million, her hot air balloon ride cost nearly $15,000, and the couple's bridal chamber at the hotel cost $4,000 per night, which many Chinese people thought a bit profligate.
"We ourselves didn't see [the criticism]," said Yang Wei at the press conference. "We were told by friends. As for whether it was a profligate wedding, we'd rather not say anything on that score. There are things you simply can't explain. All I wish to say is that Yang Yun and I really enjoyed our wedding."
They certainly looked like they did.
For her part, Yang Yun added, "We don't want to clear anything up today. We just want to say that not everything that was reported on the Internet is true."
She also said she never intended the wedding to get as huge as it did. "All we really wanted to do was to let everyone be a witness to our love. We hope that people will understand that."
To which her husband added, "This wedding attracted a lot of attention because it was held so shortly after the Olympics. If I had been a retired athlete, I doubt it would have attracted this much attention. We never intended to get so many people's attention. Our guests are all people from the gymnastics world. We just wanted to give them a nice and relaxing day, but now we're not so relaxed anymore."
Huang Yubin
Elsewhere, Yang Wei's coach Huang Yubin confirmed that the wedding was just what the Chinese gymnastics world needed. He said he didn't think people realized just how hard the Chinese teams had worked in order to win the Olympic team titles for a home audience. So it was great of the Yangs to give the athletes a chance to let their hair down. "It's a very rare opportunity," said Huang. "We haven't been this relaxed in years. Yang Wei's wedding was exactly the right occasion [to let off some steam]. [Li] Dashuang and Xiaoshuang are here too. You could say it's a big get-together for our gymnastics team, with several generations represented."
Huang went on to say that he hoped Yang Wei would not retire after his marriage, and that he felt Yang still had a few good years left in him. When a reporter asked if Yang, at 28, wasn't past his prime, Huang reminded him of Oksana Chusovitina, and said that Yang was still in very good shape.
Chen Yibing
Sina also quoted Yang's teammate Chen Yibing, who said, "Their wedding was very grand, very lively. But when I get married, it will be more low key." Chen also had an original idea for a future honeymoon: to visit the places where he's taken part in major championships. He specifically mentioned Brazil and Denmark. "It's a different way of doing things, but I think it's a nice one."
November 3, 2008
Thank God for the 2009 Code
This video was just brought to our attention. It's Korea's Park Eun-Kyong doing a seven-pass floor exercise at the recent Arthur Gander Memorial.
Brace yourselves... It's a women's floor routine which consists almost entirely of tumbling passes.
We're so glad anything over 4 passes won't be counted under the 2009 Code. Routines like this shouldn't exist. They shouldn't even be considered. Yikes.
We beg you, FIG, to bring back three-pass routines. Pretty please with sugar on top?
Park Eun-Kyong (Photo: Volker Minkus)
Brace yourselves... It's a women's floor routine which consists almost entirely of tumbling passes.
We're so glad anything over 4 passes won't be counted under the 2009 Code. Routines like this shouldn't exist. They shouldn't even be considered. Yikes.
We beg you, FIG, to bring back three-pass routines. Pretty please with sugar on top?
Park Eun-Kyong (Photo: Volker Minkus)
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