Alexandra Piscupescu (born 10 June 1994) is a retired Romanian rhythmic gymnast. She is a 6-time Romanian national champion.
| Alexandra Piscupescu | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Alexa |
| Country represented |  Romania |
| Born | 10 June 1994 Bucharest, Romania |
| Hometown | Bucharest |
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics |
| Club | Olimpia |
| Head coach(es) | Maria Garba |
| Assistant coach(es) | Elena Vlad |
| Choreographer | Anca Iorga |
| World ranking | 16 (2013 Season)[1] 25 (2012 Season)[2] 56 (2011 Season)[3] |
Career
editAs a junior, she competed at the 2009 Irina Deleanu Cup, where she won the junior all-around gold medal.
Piscupescu debuted as a senior in 2010. She competed at the 2010 World Championships in Moscow and did not qualify for the all-around final. The next year, she competed at the 2011 World Championships in Montpellier, France, and this time advanced to the final. She finished 17th in the all-around final.
In early 2012, she participated in the 2012 London Test Event. She placed 7th in the all-around final and 6th out of the gymnasts eligible to qualify for a place at the 2012 Summer Olympics; there were only five spots available, so Piscupescu only qualified as the first reserve gymnast. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation protested the result, claiming that her scores were too low and there were problems with the makeup of the judging panel. Picupescu wore a black armband in the finals as a protest against the judging.[4] Later that year, Picupescu finished 18th in the all-around at the 2012 European Championships in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
In 2013, Piscupescu won her first World cup medals at the 2013 Irina Deleanu Cup. There she won silver with hoop and ball and bronze in the ribbon final. Unusually, her ribbon final routine was accompanied live by the singer of the song she had chosen to compete with.[5][6] She again finished 17th in the 2013 World Championships all-around final behind Azeri gymnast Marina Durunda.
In 2014, Piscupescu won the 2014 Irina Deleanu Cup. On 10–15 June Piscupescu competed at the 2014 European Championships and finished 18th in the all-around.[7] She then competed at the 2014 World Championships and placed 32nd in the all-around qualifications, which did not allow her to advance to the final. She won her 6th national title and announced her retirement from Rhythmic Gymnastics after the competition.
Piscupescu made a comeback in August 2015. She finished 22nd in the all-around at the 2015 Budapest World Cup. On 9–13 September she competed at the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart. She was 33rd in the all-around qualifications and again did not advance into the finals.[8]
After her retirement, she began to work as a trainer at the Clubul Sportul Studențesc. She has coached gymnasts such as Annaliese Dragan, who earned a spot for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Lisa Garac, who won bronze in teams at the 2023 Junior World Championships, and the national junior group.[9]
References
edit- ^ "FIG World standings for rhythmic gymnastics". International Federation of Gymnastics. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ^ "FIG World standings for rhythmic gymnastics" (PDF). International Federation of Gymnastics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
- ^ "FIG World standings for rhythmic gymnastics" (PDF). International Federation of Gymnastics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ Basescu, Mirela (27 January 2012). "Încă un scandal mondial declanșat de români?** Șefa gimnasticii ritmice acuză arbitrajul fraudulos: Una dintre favorite a ratat calificarea la Olimpiadă după un concurs perfect" [Another world scandal started by the Romanians? The head of rhythmic gymnastics accuses the refereeing of fraud: One of the favorites missed qualifying for the Olympics after a perfect competition]. Prosport (in Romanian). Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "Gymnastics - World Cup Rhythmic Gymnastics - Bucharest 2013 - Results". www.the-sports.org. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "3 medals for Alexandra Piscupescu at the World Cup". romaniangymnast. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016.
- ^ "World Champion Kudryavtseva is also Europe's Gymnastics Queen". gymmedia. 14 June 2014.
- ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships 2015 Stuttgart Results Book" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. 13 September 2015.
- ^ "Surorile Andra și Carina Crainic concurează în weekend la Mondialele de ritmică, de la Cluj!" [Sisters Andra and Carina Crainic compete this weekend at the Rhythmic World Championships in Cluj!]. Club Sportiv Municipal Arad (in Romanian). 25 January 2024.
External links
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