12. Januar 2011  
Bukarest, Romania  
Artistic Gymnastics

A New Comenack fo Catalina Ponor?

Catalina Ponor: ... may be a comeback?

The Romanian press (ProSport) wrote about the possibility of a comeback of the 2004 Olympic champion (floor exerc., team, beam) Catalina Ponor (23): The start of 2011 saw Catalina Ponor near the Olmypic gymnastics team once again. The girl from Constanta, who retired from international competition two times (2006, 2007), was testing her limits at the training centre at Izvorani. After being called back to the team after the return of Belu and Bitang, the two pathways didn’t exactly meet from start. Catalina confirmed in an article published by ProSport that Mariana Bitang had called her back to the team through an email. She, however, declined her offer in July 2010, and a comeback to gymnastics at that time seemed almost impossible. Time arranged everything ...
Other sources from Izvorani and on Romanian fan websites consider that the triple Olympic Champion from Athens would have two targets. “She would either come back to artistic gymnastics, or to participate in demonstration tours, where she would be guaranteed a great physical form.”

The fact that it doesn’t hurt to try, and the comeback trends, like Corina Ungureanu or Steliana Nistor, gives hope to other famous retired gymnasts. “There aren’t rumours regarding the return Catalina. All I can say is that right now there are discussions of a possible comeback, we don’t know how much she can resist from a health point of view. In the future we will know more.”, said Adrian Stoica. Contacted by telephone, Mariana Bitang didn’t want to comment on the information.