Gabriela Agachi was a young gymnast out of the bustling port city of Constata. She took up her sport at SC Constata Farel, where she was coached by Nicolae Forminte. Gabriela was so talented that she was selected to be a national team member, and left home for Deva.
During her first year of international competition, Gabriela competed against Great Britain in a dual meet. There she placed first with her team, and an encouraging fourth in the all around. Over the next two years she went to meets in Moscow, Japan, Greece, and the United States. Her best results came in 1991 at the Kosice International, held in Kosice, which was a city in former Czechoslovakia, where she placed first in the all around.
In 1992, it came time for the national team coaches to select three gymnasts to compete in the European Championships. The coaches took Gina Gogean and Vanda Hadarean, and brought Gabriela and Camelia Mandricel to the meet. They decided to choose between the two once they arrived. The coaches did not name the third team member promptly after arriving, but instead chose to wait until the day before the competition, the last day possible.
So until the decision was made, both Gabi and Camelia were under pressure wondering which one of them would be able to compete. Camelia begged the coaches just to let her friend compete, because neither of the two could stand the waiting, but they refused.
On the day before the meet, the coaches chose to let Camelia compete over Gabriela |
