Andreea Răducan Announces Retirement

Original article by Razvan Ionascu was published on Sept. 30th in Gazeta Sporturilor

The day of her 19th birthday, Andreea Răducan said it was time for her to retire from competitive gymnastics. “I think I achieved something in gymnastics, especially as far as I’m concerned and I think it’s time for me to say goodbye to competitive gymnastics,” she said. This is the second time Andreea announces her retirement, except this time around, her decision is final. “I feel I cannot bring myself up to the level I was until now. It wouldn’t be any problem for me to compete in events and finish in 4th, 5th or 10th place but I don’t want people to say my name is all I have left of my [former] self,” she explained.
The leader of the national team admitted the extra weight she is currently carrying contributed to her decision. “I know I gained quite a bit of weight. I don’t think I could be the Andreea I was before. Besides that, there’s a certain monotony that came into play,” added Răducan.

For now Andreea doesn’t know exactly what she’s going to do after she’ll say goodbye to the world of competitive gymnastics. “I’ll move to Timisoara to continue my university studies. Starting my own business is tempting, but I don’t know if I’ll take that road. In any case, I’m not interested in coaching at all,” concluded Andreea, who keeps all the money she won from the sport in a bank account.
As far as starting a relationship is concerned, Andreea said she’s in no rush to take that step. “A relationship automatically implies a lot of responsibility for both sides. When the time’s right, I definitely won’t back down,” she explained.