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"Cooome on Andreea!...Stick!" The 17 junior team members yell in unison, as they try to encourage their teammate, Andreea Răducan. She's performing on floor, her favorite event. First tumbling run "Cooome on!...Stick!" Almost like she heard them, Andrea lands her double layout perfectly. Later on she falls on her hands, and the girls are pulling their hair out. "We have another chance. Simona!", the coach reminds them. "Cooome on Simi!...Stick!" The junior team members gathered inside a Deva classroom, to watch their older teammates perform, as they always do when the Romanian team is competing in a major event.
All of a sudden Romanian TV breaks the news. Andreea tested positive for a banned substance. Reporters talk about ephedrine, coldrex, and Nurofen. The young gymnasts are in shock. Benone Pereteanu, one of the assistant coaches from the senior team, says that the gymnasts and coaches who left for Sydney knew Coldrex contains a banned substance. "Elisabeta Turcu is the nurse who takes care of the gymnasts' medication. Of course, there's also Dr. Ioachim Oană, who works with the National team. I don't think they could make such a mistake", he says.
"On Tv, they talked about Coldrex, but no one said Andreea is suspected of doping. I think it's not a sure thing yet, and that's why no official announcement has been made", says two time Junior European champion Silvia Stroescu. Alexandra Barac another Romanian hopeful adds "Our nurse only brings nasal decongestant for competitions."
After Zamolodchikova's win, the juniors left for another training session. It was along and sad day for their team, with the unavoidable question of "Any new about Andreea?" surfacing ever other 5 minutes.