Valentina Rodionenko, Russia's head coach, spoke to vpsfund.org about Romania's failure to quality a full squad to Rio at test e...
"We are very sorry to the true team of Romania" said Rodionenko.
"For the last four decades, they were one of the biggest competitors Russia has faced. The Rio Olympics will miss the special and unique Romanian gymnastics style."
"It goes without saying, the performance of the Romanian team [test event] was heavily affected by the absence of their leader Larisa Iordache. But, to tell you the truth, nobody considered Romania to be a heavy favorite to take the lead in Team Final [at the Olympics]."
Rodionenko believes that USA and Russia will compete for 1st place while China and Great Britain will compete for 3rd in Rio.
Russia (Soviet Union) and Romania had a long history of rivalry. From 1976 to 2000, excluding the boycotted 1984 Olympic games, both countries have dominated the Olympic podium.
The last time both countries made the podium in team final at an Olympic Games was in 2004, where Romania won gold and Russia won bronze. While the 2001 World championships was the last Worlds to have both countries medal in team final.
Written by Gigi Farid
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