What is a better way to prove that your methods work than by winning? I have proved that my methods work.
I know gymnastics. It's always been a subjective appreciation.
Back in Romania, always I was struggling to compete with Vladislav Rastorotsky, the great Russian coach of Lyudmila Turishcheva. He was a powerful coach, internationally. I took him like the major challenge of my life, and pretty soon I'm beating him and we are pushing each other so hard, so fierce. But out of the arena, we are friends.
In gymnastics, smaller will always be better in many ways. The stress in the head, that will be the same for all. But the stress on the body and the concussions it must endure, that will always be easier for the little ones.
I still love to find and develop the young athletes in traditional ways. I like to watch the physical and mental growth. That has always been very exciting.
Genetics is all about showcasing human beauty along with high-quality performance.
The ideal gymnast would be between 4 feet 7 and 5-2. I wouldn't be able to pinpoint an ideal height, however. It would be foolish to say that a gymnast above 5-2 could not be great.
What makes the vault so spectacular is because it's a very athletic type of event, where it needs a lot of speed, a lot of explosive action and, of course, great coordination.
A good 80 percent of the vault is still physical and another percentage of it, 20, 25 percent is mental. Mental is always the mental strength, the confidence building up to that contest or repetition, practice, practice, and practice.
The crowd sometimes plays a tremendous role to give you wings and carry you to victory.
The Olympics shows the community what gymnastics is all about.