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Sandra Raluca Izbaşa (born June 18, 1990 in Bucharest, Romania) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. Her best events are the floor exercise, the balance beam, and the all-around. She is the 2008 Olympic champion on floor exercise and a bronze medalist on the team event.
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Izbasa began gymnastics in 1994 at the CSS Steaua Bucharest club[1], after trying out tennis and fencing[2]. In 2002 she joined the Romanian national gymnastics team[3]. At the 2004 Junior European Championships, Izbaşa placed sixth in the all-around event. She also won a silver medal on the floor final event; her compatriot Steliana Nistor won the gold[4]. One year later, at the 2005 Japan Junior International meet, she won the gold medals on the floor and vault[3].
In 2006, her first year competing as a senior, Izbaşa won the all-around, floor and vault titles at the Romanian International Championships[5]. She followed up her domestic success with her senior international debut at the World Cup final in Lyon, France, where she won the bronze medal on the balance beam and the silver on the floor[1]. At the 2006 European Championships in Volos, Greece, Izbaşa was a member of the silver-medal-winning Romanian team, as well as winning the gold medal on the floor exercise and the bronze medal on the balance beam[1].
These successes secured her a place in the national team competing for the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. According to the team's coach Nicolae Forminte, the 2006 team was Romania's most unexperienced generation since the time of Nadia Comăneci. From all the team members only Floarea Leonida had the experience of a world championship[6]. In Aarhus, the Romanian team placed 4th in the team competition, the first time since 1981 that the Romanian team failed to medal at a world championship[7]. Izbaşa was the only gymnast of the Romanian team to medal at this competition, she won the bronze medal in the all-around event and the silver medal on the beam[8]. She also placed 8th in the vault final, and fifth on the floor[1]. During the floor exercise final, she stepped out of bounds on her first tumbling pass[9].
In 2007, she competed at several world cup competitions. At the 2007 European Championships, Amsterdam, The Netherlands she won the silver medal in the all-around event, behind Vanessa Ferrari[10]. She injured her ankle on the dismount of her event final beam routine, but she managed to win the silver medal. Due to the injury she did not compete in the floor event final[11]. She had only four months to recover from this injury before the 2007 World Championships. At this competition she won the bronze medal with the team and she placed 9th in the all-around and 8th on the floor event final[12].
2008 was a very successful year for Izbaşa. Having recovered from her injury, she competed at the 2008 European Championships in Clermond-Ferrand, France. At that competition she won the team gold medal, the gold on the floor, and the silver medal on the beam[13]. In the same year she was together with Steliana Nistor, Anamaria Tămârjan, Gabriela Drăgoi, Andreea Grigore, and Andreea Acatrinei, a member of the Romanian team at the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing, China. Here she helped the team to win the bronze medal by competing in three events: vault (15.100), balance beam (15.600) and floor (15.550). Individually she won the gold medal on floor (15.650) ahead of Shawn Johnson (15.500) and Nastia Liukin (15.425)[14]. Following her Olympic success she competed in various competitions and exhibitions[15]. She won the Arthur Gander Memorial[16], she paired with Flavius Koczi for the second place at Swiss Cup[17], and she won gold on floor and silver on beam at Toyota Cup[18] and at the Italian Grand Prix[19]. Her last 2008 competition was the World Cup in Madrid where she won the bronze medal on floor and placed fourth on balance beam[20].
She was on the cover of the April 2009 number of International Gymnast Magazine that celebrated her Olympic achievements[21]. In February, Izbaşa headlined the 1st Nadia Comaneci International Invitational (Oklahoma, USA)[22]. Here she won the all around senior title with the competition’s highest marks on vault, floor and beam and the team gold medal (with Daniela Druncea)[23]. Struggling with injuries to both legs Izbaşa presented herself not at her usual sharp at both Jesolo Trophy[24] and the 2009 European Championships. At the Europeans she qualified second on floor but failed to qualify on beam[25]. In the floor finals she placed a disappointing seventh after an incomplete landing on her triple twist dismount, which the judges credited as a 2 1/2 twist. Since she already had performed a 2 1/2 twist in her third pass, the final pass was given no credit[26]. In the summer of 2009 she focussed on the National exams which she successfully passed with an average of 9.71 (out of maximum 10). After the exams she enrolled herself as a student at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca[27]. Izbaşa planned to compete at the 2009 World Championships but, unfortunately in September just before the Romanian Nationals she suffered a torn Achilles' tendon and a hand injury. She was replaced in London by the alternate Gabriela Dragoi[28].
Izbaşa was voted the Romanian Gymnastics Federation's Athlete of the Year 2008. She shared the title with Răzvan Dorin Şelariu[29].
Izbaşa is a very consistent gymnast and rarely falls. She is very clean and precise. Her favorite and best event is floor (which she won at the 2008 Summer Olympics). She is very clean, has difficult tumbling, and is a master at sticking the landings. She is also very good on beam, where she won the silver medal at the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She is also a fabulous vaulter as well, where she placed 8th at the 2006 world championships. She usually performs a yurchenko double twist, but has switched to a full twist (in 2009). It's obvious that she is not a bar worker. She does not always hit her handstands and doesn't have that much difficulty, but like on all the events, she has clean form. She has gotten better on uneven bars (though she has added more difficulty).
2005
Floor Exercise: Triple turn; round-off, back handspring, tuck full-in; front handspring, double twist to punch front tuck; double-twisting tuck jump; cat leap double, cat leap 1 3/4; round-off, back handspring, 2 1/2 twist to punch front layout full; switch leap, stag leap; round-off, back handspring, triple twist.
2006
Floor Exercise: Round-off, back layout 1 1/2 twist, punch front layout full to punch front tuck full; round-off, back handspring, tucked full-in; full-twisting split leap; triple turn; round-off, back handspring, 2 1/2 twist to punch front 1 1/2 tuck; full-twisting switch leap, half-twisting split leap; round-off, back handspring, triple twist.
2007
Floor Exercise: Round-off, back handspring, piked full-in; round-off, back handspring, tucked full-in; triple turn; round-off, back handspring, 2 1/2 twist to punch front layout full; round-off back 1 1/2 twist to punch front 1 1/2 twist layout; tour jete 1/2 to split leap 1/2; round-off, back handspring, triple twist.
2008
Floor Exercise: Round-off, back 1 1/2 twist to punch front 2 twist; round-off, back handspring, piked full-in; triple turn; round-off, back handspring, 2 1/2 twist to punch front layout full; round-off, backhandspring, tucked-full-in; tour jete 1/2 to split leap 1/2; round-off, backhandspring, triple twist.
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