Elena Leușteanu-Popescu (later Teodorescu, 4 July 1935 – 16 August 2008) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

who competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics. During her career she won three Olympic bronze medals, one world bronze medal and five continental silver medals. She was the first Romanian

to win an individual Olympic medal (in 1956).

Early years

As a teenager Leușteanu showed talents in handball, athletics, cross-country skiing and gymnastics. In 1949 she won a junior national title in athletics triathlon. In 1953, when she was a member of the national athletics team, she had her best results at 5.14 m in the long jump and 1.43 m in the high jump. In 1951 she also became a member of the national gymnastics team.Elena Leustean

Romanian Olympic Committee The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Romanian Olympic Committee ( ro, Comitetul Olimpic Român) was formed in 1 ...

1954–1956: world championships and Olympic debut

Leușteanu made her debut at the 1954 World Championships in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where she placed 4th with her team, 5th in the individual combined standings, and was a vault finalist. At the

1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the E ...

, Leușteanu led her Romanian team the bronze medal at these games, a first for Romania at any World Championships or Olympics. In the individual combined standings, she tied

Olga Tass Olga Tass (married name Lemhényi; 29 March 1929 – 10 July 2020) was a Hungarian gymnast who competed at the 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960 Summer Olympics. She was born in Pécs. Gymnastics career Tass began gymnastics in 1941 but wouldn't ...

of Hungary for 4th place, just .100 behind bronze medal position. She qualified for three of the four event finals: vault, where she placed 6th; balance beam, where she placed 6th; and floor exercise, where she became the first Romanian woman to win an individual Olympic gymnastics medal – a bronze.

1957–1960: continued success

The first ever European Artistic Gymnastics Championships for women, held in 1957 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

in her native country of

, saw Leușteanu win the silver in the individual all-around competition behind Soviet

Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...

. In the event finals, she collected two more medals in both the uneven bars and floor exercises. In

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

at the 1958 World Championships, competing as Elena Teodorescu, she helped her team to the bronze medal and placed 17th in the individual combined exercises and was, again, a vault finalist. At the second European Artistic Gymnastics Championships for women, held in 1959 in Krakow,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, she repeated her 2nd-place all-around finish and qualified to three of the four event finals where she won silver on the uneven bars as she had at the previous European Championships. At the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

, she buttressed her stronger teammate

Sonia Iovan Sonia Iovan-Inovan (born 29 September 1935) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast who competed at the 1956, 1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations ...

, helping their team to the bronze and she was 11th in the individual combined standings.

Later life

In Leușteanu's 3rd appearance at the European Championships held in 1961 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, she placed 6th in the all-around and qualified to two event finals – uneven bars and floor where she placed 4th and 5th, respectively. In 1964 she was a member of the team representing Romania at the Olympic Games. She placed 6th with the teamGymn-Forum: Results
1964 Olympics Women's team and 20th all around.
1964 Olympics Women's All Around In 2006, at a celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, Leușteanu was the first gymnast to be mentioned and honoured and clips of her performance on the uneven bars were presented. She took part in the celebration, ascending to the podium along with other notable Romanian gymnasts of the past such as

Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10. ...

, Daniela Silivaş, and

Lavinia Miloșovici Lavinia Corina Miloșovici (born 21 October 1976) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast.Jane Perlez (13 July 1995"Romanian Coach Keeps Up the Fight" ''New York Times'' An exceptionally successful athlete on the international competition circuit ...

. While her fellow Romanians were at the

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, successfully defending the legacy of Romanian gymnastics she helped to create, Leușteanu died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

in mid-August 2008 at the age of 73.Gymnastics medallist Elena Leusteanu dies
thenews.com.pk (19 August 2008)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leusteanu, Elena 1935 births 2008 deaths Romanian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1956 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1960 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Olympic gymnasts of Romania Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Deaths from cancer in Romania Deaths from pancreatic cancer Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics 20th-century Romanian women