By Caroline.

Oh Bella Catalina!  (page 2).

Her arrival at the highest level is the best thing that could have happened to the Romanian school of gymnastics, long criticised for producing robotic gymnasts lacking in charm. The success of dark-haired Catalina awakens memories of another charming Romanian, pretty Aurelia Dobre*, who 17 years ago also captured the hearts of the Dutch spectators.   Catalina doesn't spontaneously name Aurelia Dobre as one of her role models, preferring Simona Amanar, "...who comes from the same town as me and of course, Nadia". Maybe this is because Aurelia's career was fleeting, while Catalina herself hopes to be around for a long time. "I'm hoping to carry on competing after the Games. It'll all depend on my fitness. This sport requires a lot of sacrifices but I'm adapting to that. I haven't been at Deva long, so all these compromises don't weigh me down at the moment."     The remaining question on everyone's lips: if she competes in the all around at the Games, will she be Khorkina's main rival in her quest for Olympic gold? For that, she would need to compete on bars, her one weak point. Octavian Belu did not select her for this at Amsterdam, explaining: "Her exercise is not of a sufficiently high standard, and the format of these championships being what it is, I couldn't take that risk for the team." Catalina is training bars however, and is trying to make up the lost ground, but will she have enough time?   The belle remains evasive on this subject. "Of course I would like to compete in the all around but my bars routine isn't ready yet. I'm working on new elements, but I'm not yet able to link them correctly." She is being modest, since at the last Romanian International she was nonetheless awarded a 9.10. Although this mark was presented in Romania by a Romanian jury, and wouldn't be given by an international jury, the result is still encouraging. With a 1 1/2 twisting Yurchenko on vault that is generally marked within the 9.3 range and two marks above 9.6, an inferior result on bars could be of no consequence....   The riddle still remains unsolved - see you in Athens....     Catalina Ponor.