Andreea Cacovean (ROM)

Cacovean at the 1995 Trophee Massilia. 
Photo used with the expressed permission of Caroline Paulian

1992 Junior Team Championships
1993 Jr. European Championships: 2nd AA, 3rd V, 1st UB, 2nd BB, 3rd FX
1993 World Championships: 6th AA (prelims), 3rd UB
1994 French Internationa'l
1994 USA vs ROM: 1st T, 14th FX
1995 World Championships: 1st T
1995 Romanian National Championships: 1st T, 3rd AA, 1st UB, 3rd BB
1995 ITA vs ESP vs ROM vs BLR: 1st T, 3rd AA
1995 Trinacria Cup: 2nd AA, 1st UB, 1st BB
1995 Trophee Massilia

The majority of these results were compiled from information found at Gymn Forum

Andreea Cacovean's career was painfully short, but in the limited time that she competed, she completely captured my attention.

Andreea was clearly pegged for success at a young age -- if you look closely, you will see that she is shown in the 1987 documentary, Romanian Dream. Andreea's early results in gymnastics competition certainly did not disappoint. At the 1993 World Championships -- her first major international competition as a senior -- she placed sixth after prelims! Unfortunately, because of the "two per country" rule, poor Andreea failed to qualify to the AA finals (teamates Lavinia Milosovici and Gina Gogean placed 2nd and 4th in the prelims, respectively).

Event finals proved brighter for Andreea, where she medalled on bars - traditionally Romania's weakest event.

Things seemed to slowly fall apart for Andreea following the 1993 World Championships. Fellow teammate Nadia Hatagan rose to prominence the following year, forcing Andreea down the ranks. I have heard whisperings that Belu did not have the fondest of feelings for her. Indeed, Andreea was hardly a 'robot' gymnast, openly questionning Belu (e.g., she seemed to openly defy/refute Belu after her floor performance at the 1994 USA vs ROM dual meet...incidentally, she used Silivas' 1989 FX music at this meet!).

Unfortunately, in the years to come, Andreea suffered a series of back problems. By 1996 is became evident that she would have to miss the Olympics. As though that were bad enough, she was told that her back could take fully two years to heal. All of the girls at Deva are given the opportunity to stay at Deva and finish high school, even if their gymnastics careers end. Andreea opted to do this, and she began assisting the juniors on the team. According to the June 1997 issue of Gym Stars, many of the girls that she helped coach represented Romania at the 1997 European Youth Olympic Games in Lisbon, Portugal.

Update (December 13, 1999). Although the January 1999 issue of IG reported that Cacovean was studying at the University of Timisoara, the Romanian newspaper ProSport reported in the fall of 1999 that Cacovean has been a student at the Cluj Sports University since 1997. Her ultimate goal is to become an aerobics instructor, and ProSport explained that this past Spring (1999), Andreea got a lost closer to her goal. Filomena Vaida, a former volleyball player and now head of the aerobics department at the university, asked Andreea to help with the establishment of an aerobics club for children. Andreea explained to ProSport, "I wanted to coach aerobic gymnastics...most of our gymnasts are involved in artistic gymnastics, and there are basically no junior competitors in aerobics." Unfortunately, following a couple of misunderstandings and disagreements, Andreea was forced to quit her job. 

At the same time, she was forced to move out of the dorms because there were not enough rooms for all of the students, and the students who are competiting for the university (in sports like volleyball and basketball), get priority. Andreea is currently living with a local family, but she and her parents cannot afford the rent for long. Andreea voiced her opinion about these disappointments to ProSport, "I could have gone to school anywhere I wanted: Bucharest, Brasov, Timisoara or Bacau. All of those schools accepted me with open arms. I decided to come to Cluj because it's closer to home, but now I regret making that decision." 

Fortunately, things appear to be turning around for Andreea. She was recently offered a coaching position in the Netherlands. "If I can leave, I hope I can find a good place where I can work. Actually, most of my former teammates left Romania to coach, and they're doing just fine. I hope I can do the same," she told ProSport. Best of luck Andreea, you deserve it! 

(December 17, 2000). Andreea's Dutch offer fell through, but things are looking up for her in Romania. According to Monitorul de Cluj, a new gymnastics club will be built in Cimpia Turzi. Andreea has been named head coach of the future women's program.

Cacovean was born on September 15, 1978