Romanian power: Andreea Munteanu profile.

Making 4th place in the floor final, Andreea especially charmed the audience and the public with her dynamism and freshness. Adriana Pop, who created her choreography, remembers: "I made her listen to several pieces of music, and when she heard the music from the film "The Mask" she was immediately enthusiastic about it. This was the piece she wanted and no other would do! She only took two days to learn her floor. I really like this gymnast, she's very dynamic and constantly on the go. She reminds me of a cat."

She is certainly catlike, with a body that is as light as a feather. She is the lightest of her teammates, and they themselves are hardly fat! If the young Romanian lacks a little in power, she makes up for it with an astonishing speed of execution and liveliness. During her tumbling runs (full in back out, whip to triple twist, and 2 1/2 twist), Andreea is all smiles and seems to enjoy herself, probably too happy to be concerned with showing off to adults. As the applause increases, so do her marks.

Andreea already had boundless energy when she was still small and her encounter with the sport has enabled her to channel it. "One day I saw gymnasts on television and naturally I wanted to copy them. I spent my spare time vaulting onto the bed, and my mother, fearing for her bedding, eventually signed me up for a gymnastics club," she jokes. "Things moved on from there, and I have no regrets. For me, gymnastics is pure pleasure and is always better than staying at home doing nothing," she adds.

Sitting around doing nothing isn't acceptable at Deva. The national centre on a hill high above the town imposes a strict regime that leads to excellence. The training keeps the gymnasts busy for six days of the week, in two daily sessions. Each morning the girls have classes until 10.00 am. After training comes relaxation, massage, and sometimes video sessions where any incorrect techniques are analysed. The lights go out at around 10.00 pm. Andreea shares her room with Catalina Ponor, another newly discovered talent at the last Worlds. Her pastimes are typical for her age group - Game Boy, shopping and music. On Sunday, a day of rest, the athletes like to go walking in a nearby park, or to organise games or savour the pleasure of seeing their parents again, who sometimes come from some distance to visit them. The national centre is not cut off from the rest of the world or behind the times.

Young Munteanu still needs to improve a lot. The gymnast still has some form faults with her legs on her double twisting Yurchenko which she doesn't always land perfectly. On bars, as for most girls on the team, she still has some work to do. It is, she admits, her weak point. "I am always a little nervous before beginning my bars routine, it isn't my best apparatus. In addition, I've got a new element - I've replaced my Jaeger with a Gienger release. When I do well on bars, the rest of the competition tends to follow suit."

Above all, Mutulica needs more competitions in order to establish herself and to make a name for herself with the judges. She has already won over the spectators, and most likely the readers too.

Caroline Paulian

With special thanks to Adriana Pop