Gina Gogean attends IOC conference
Former gymnast Gina Gogean was nominated by the Romanian Olympic Committee to attend a camp in Greece, along with professor Laurentiu Bocioacă. During her two week stay in Greece , Gina had a chance to relive the glory days of former Olympians and interact with the other participants.
Every year, the International Olympic Academy organizes a camp for young students from across the world, giving them a chance to learn more about the history of modern-day Olympics. 175 students from 83 countries came to the 2001 camp. “I was the only competitive athlete present. I was asked to talk to the people in Olympia, who were mostly students, about my experience as a gymnast,” she explained.
Besides visiting ancient museums and the “stadium” where the first Olympics were help, Gina had a chance to talk to former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, and current IOC leader Jacques Rogge. The former held a brief course about drug use in sports, where he also talked about Andreea Răducan. “I couldn’t believe that a 16-year old girl was using drugs. But there was nothing I could do; rules are rules. I had to punish her some way. This is the first time in Olympic history that an athlete was stripped of his medal, but did not receive a suspension,“ said Rogge.
