Daniela Silivas
Encyclopedia
Viorica Daniela Silivaş-Harper (daniˈela siliˈvaʃ; born May 9, 1972), best known as Daniela Silivaş, is a Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...

 who is most famous for winning six medals (three gold, two silver, and one bronze) in women's artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics where gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting . The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique , which designs the Code of Points and regulates all aspects of international elite...

 at the 1988 Olympic Games
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 in Seoul, Korea. In her five year tenure as a member of the Romanian senior national team, Silivaş earned six individual World Championships titles as well the 1987 European Championships all-around title. She was the only gymnast, male or female, to medal in every single event at the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, where she earned 7 perfect 10.0 scores.
In 1989, Silivaş's training was hampered by the closure of the Deva National Training Center during the Romanian Revolution and further impeded by a knee injury. She formally retired in 1991 and moved to the United States, where she currently enjoys a career as a gymnastics coach. In 2002 she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics....

.

Early life and career

Daniela Silivaş was born in Deva
Deva, Romania
Deva is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, on the left bank of the Mureș River. It is the capital of Hunedoara County.-Name:...

, Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

, on May 9, 1972. She began gymnastics at age 6 and was coached by the legendary Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi is a Romanian gymnastics coach. He was born in what was then Kolozsvár, Hungary, a region restored to Romanian administration after 1944. Károlyi and his wife, Márta, also of Hungarian origin, emigrated to the United States in 1981 and both have dual citizenships for Romania and the...

 for six months before his defection in 1981. Silivaş won her school's championships in 1980, and in 1981 and 1982, was the Romanian Junior National Champion. She continued to compete in various junior meets through 1984, enjoying a particularly strong showing at the 1984 Junior European Championships, where she won the balance beam title, earned silver medals on the uneven bars and floor exercise, and placed 4th in the all-around. The 1984 Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba) was another especially successful meet for Silivaş: she won gold medals in the all-around and uneven bars over a strong field that included future Olympic and World champions Svetlana Boguinskaya, Aurelia Dobre
Aurelia Dobre
Aurelia Dobre is a former artistic gymnast from Romania, who was the 1987 World Champion. She is still held in high esteem by many gymnastics fans today for her clean technique as well as balletic and artistic flair...

 and Dagmar Kersten
Dagmar Kersten
Dagmar Kersten is a former East German gymnast and competed for the SC Dynamo Berlin/ Sportvereinigung Dynamo. She is an Olympic medalist and has won many international competitions...

, among others.

Age Controversy

However, Silivaş did not linger for long in the junior ranks. In 1985, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation changed her birth year
Age controversies in gymnastics
The age requirements in gymnastics are established by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique and regulate the age at which athletes are allowed to participate in senior-level competitions.-History of age requirements in artistic gymnastics:...

 from 1972 to 1970 to make her age eligible for the World Championships
1985 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 23rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada, in 1985.-Medals:-All-around:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-Team final:-All-around:- Vault :...

 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. The falsification was suspected by some, but was never fully verified until Silivaş herself revealed it in 2002. She stated that she was never consulted about the matter: officials simply gave her a new passport, called her attention to the birth date, and informed her that she was now fifteen.

1985-1987

Although she was only thirteen at the 1985 Worlds, Silivaş scored a perfect 10 en route to capturing the World balance beam
Balance beam (gymnastics)
The balance beam is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes referred to as simply "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is BB....

 title; defeating the reigning Olympic Champion, her fellow countrywoman, Ecaterina Szabo
Ecaterina Szabo
Ecaterina Szabo is an ethnic Hungarian former artistic gymnast from Romania who won 20 Olympic, world and continental medals...

, in the process. She finished behind reigning co-World Champion Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills as well as her longevity and exceptional consistency...

 in the individual all-around at the 1986 World Cup and quickly established herself as the leader of the Romanian gymnastics team.
Silivaş's greatest triumph took place at the 1987 European Gymnastics Championships in Moscow, where she won the individual all-around, uneven bars
Uneven bars (gymnastics)
The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is used only by female gymnasts. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or AB, and the...

, balance beam and floor exercise
Floor (gymnastics)
In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.A spring...

 titles in addition to taking a silver medal on the vault
Vault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...

. At the time, every single dominant nation in women's gymnastics was located in Europe; winning the European title over the deep field of powerful Soviet, East German and Bulgarian gymnasts marked a major victory.

At the 1987 World Championships
1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 24th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1987.-Medals:-All-around:- Floor exercise :-Pommel horse:-Rings:-Vault:-Parallel bars:-Horizontal bar:-Team final:-All-around:- Vault :...

 in Rotterdam, Silivaş helped the Romanian squad win the team title, defeating the nearly invincible world champion Soviet team for the first time since 1979. She was a favorite for the all-around title, but, hampered by low scores carried over from the team optionals, where she had stepped off the balance beam, as well as a shaky uneven bars routine in the all-around, she only managed to win the bronze medal behind teammate Aurelia Dobre
Aurelia Dobre
Aurelia Dobre is a former artistic gymnast from Romania, who was the 1987 World Champion. She is still held in high esteem by many gymnastics fans today for her clean technique as well as balletic and artistic flair...

 and 1985 World Champion Shushunova. In the event finals, Silivaş did win two gold medals, on the uneven bars and the floor.

1988 Olympics

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, Silivaş, along with Dobre and Shushunova, was considered a heavy favorite for the all-around title. In the team competition, Romania finished second to the Soviet squad.

The stage was set for the all-around, with a hotly anticipated battle between Silivaş, the technician and dancer; and Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills as well as her longevity and exceptional consistency...

, the powerhouse and tumbler. Both gymnasts turned in especially strong performances. Both Silivaş and Shushunova received perfect 10.0 scores on floor; Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills as well as her longevity and exceptional consistency...

 received her second 10.0 on vault; Silivaş received hers on the uneven bars.
Silivaş was in the lead entering the final rotation, but a score of 9.950 on the vault dropped her to second place behind Shushunova by only 0.025.

The all-around duel between Silivaş and Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills as well as her longevity and exceptional consistency...

 is widely acknowledged to have been one of the finest contests in the history of the sport, not to mention most hotly debated. In particular, Silivaş' score on vault came under scrutiny. Of the six judges on the panel, three marked her first vault as a perfect 10.0; two others gave her 9.9s. The Soviet judge on the panel Nellie Kim
Nellie Kim
Nellie Vladimirovna Kim is a retired Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics...

, however, only scored Silivaş at a 9.8. On her second vault attempt Silivaş took a hop on her landing; all six judges gave her 9.9s. Silivaş was visibly upset after Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills as well as her longevity and exceptional consistency...

's scores were posted and at the medal ceremony; according to a report in International Gymnast, her comment on the competition was "after my last vault, I thought maybe I should be the champion." However, she did not argue the results publicly. Her former coach, Bela Károlyi
Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi is a Romanian gymnastics coach. He was born in what was then Kolozsvár, Hungary, a region restored to Romanian administration after 1944. Károlyi and his wife, Márta, also of Hungarian origin, emigrated to the United States in 1981 and both have dual citizenships for Romania and the...

, noted, "This kid had the honesty and decency to shut up. She didn’t want to say ‘I’m better’ because she knows Shushunova
Yelena Shushunova
Yelena Lvovna Shushunova is a Russian gymnast, World, European, and Olympic Champion. Shushunova is renowned for her dynamic vaulting and tumbling skills as well as her longevity and exceptional consistency...

 is the Olympic champion but she couldn’t praise a rival. So she just didn’t say a word. These kids have more decency than all the judges and coaches in the world."

In spite of the controversy, no score protests were ever filed by Silivaş, her coaches or her Federation, and no disciplinary measures were taken against any of the judges. In addition, even though Kim's first mark was considered questionable by many fans, it did not actually figure into Silivaş' final score: in 1988, the highest and lowest marks of the panel were dropped; the final score was the average of the remaining four marks. Also, in spite of her vault score, Silivaş' cumulative overall all-around total was actually higher than that of Shushunova: if the competition had been held under the New Life rule, she would have won.

Silivaş returned in the event finals to win gold medals on the uneven bars, floor and beam, well as bronze in the vault behind Soviet Svetlana Boguinskaya (gold) and teammate Gabriela Potorac
Gabriela Potorac
Gabriela Potorac is a Romanian artistic gymnast who represented Romania at the 1988 Olympic Games.She is a three-time Olympic medalist a two-time world medalist and a European champion. Her best event was the balance beam on which she is an Olympic and a world bronze medalist and a European...

 (silver). In the process, she became the only gymnast in Seoul to win medals on every single event in all three competitions (team, all-around and event finals). She also equaled Nadia Comăneci
Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...

's record of seven perfect 10.0 scores in a single Olympic competition.

Post Olympic Games and retirement

Despite being plagued with a serious knee injury in 1989, Silivaş was able to successfully defend her floor exercise title at the European Championships and won three additional medals. In the all-around, she placed second to Svetlana Boguinskaya. Still injured, she went to the Worlds in Stuttgart
1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 25th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Stuttgart, West Germany, in 1989 from October 14 to October 22.The scoring rule New Life was introduced for the first time ever...

 where she placed 12th in the all-around after falling from the balance beam. Undaunted, she returned in event finals to capture three more gold medals on the bars, beam and floor.After several more competitions in 1989, Silivaş underwent surgery on her knee and intended to return to the gym to train. The Romanian Revolution of 1989 closed the National Training Center at Deva, putting an early end to her career.

Life after gymnastics

Silivaş formally retired from gymnastics in 1991 and moved to the United States, settling in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. In 2002, Silivaş was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics....

; she still holds the record as the youngest gymnast ever to receive this honor.

Silivaş works full-time as a gymnastics coach in Sandy Springs, Georgia. In May 2003, she married Scott Harper, a sports management graduate living in the Atlanta area. The couple have three children: two sons, Jadan Scott, born April 8, 2004 and Rylan Bryce Harper, born October 2009; and a daughter, Ava Luciana, born November 8, 2005. The Harpers reside in Marietta, Georgia

Skills

The hallmarks of Silivaş' gymnastics were her impeccable form and execution, difficulty and expressive dance. Many of the skills she performed in the 1988 Olympics still carry high difficulty ratings in the 2007 Code of Points
Code of Points (artistic gymnastics)
A Code of Points is a rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition in gymnastics. There is no unified, international code of points; every oversight organization—such as FIG , NCAA Gymnastics, and most national gymnastics federations—designs and employs its own unique Code...

. Between 1985 and 1988, the highlights of Silivaş' routines included:

Floor Exercise:
  • "Back to back" tumbling: Round-off, back handspring, double twist, punch front, round-off, back handspring, double twist, punch front.
  • Triple twist
  • Double twisting double back somersault "Silivaş"
  • Double back tuck
  • Double tour-double pirouette
  • The "Silivaş" skill, which involved spinning on the ankles


Balance Beam
  • The "Silivaş" mount: shoulder stand-pirouette
  • Back handspring, two layout step-outs
  • Roundoff, two-foot layout
  • Aerial front walkover
  • Double back dismount


Uneven Bars
  • Deltchev
  • Tkatchev
  • Shaposhnikova transition

External links

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