I hoped to win a medal and hoped it would be gold. I knew I was good but didn't know I would be the one to score something that had never been done before.

I have had a few turning points, the first day I entered a gymnastics school at age 6.

It was good to be a kid because I did not realise all the things that came with the success. Going to the Games, I was asked what I expected to do.

Of course, I grew up in Communist Romania, but I am happy to say that now our country is democratic, and prospering, since the revolution in 1989.

I hoped to win a medal and hoped it would be gold. I knew I was good but didn't know I would be the one to score something that had never been done before.

One of the most difficult times in my life was when I escaped from Romania in November of 1989.

for some people life outside the spotlight is death.