When Roxana Popa reinjured her knee in 2015, she thought she would not be able to compete again. She had trouble even walking down the street, so gymnastics was out of the question at the time. However, after another surgery in 2017, she started feeling much better and her coach started slowly encouraging her to try things out.
Today, at her first major competition since the injury, Popa not only qualified to the floor final with a superb floor routine, but helped the Spanish team qualify to the Olympics.
Popa said that competing at Worlds has been so overwhelming she almost cried at the end:
“A moment ago I was about to cry because it was a moment like… I’m here. Finally. This July was the first time I was able to do floor since my surgery. It’s simply amazing. For me, it’s unbelievable to be here.”
The journey to this day has been quite lond and hard:
“In the past, I wasn’t thinking about doing gymnastics again for the simple reason that I could barely walk. I couldn’t run, I couldn’t jump, anything. Sometimes I would walk on the street and my knee would just pop out. After my second surgery, I was on the beach once, my knee gave out and I just fell.”
“My last surgery three years ago was just to be able to walk normally again. I started doing my rehab and everything was normal. I did my first level of gymnastics coaching and then my coach in my club in Madrid started to be like: “Let’s try this, let’s try that.” As I always say, inside me, I have a little fire that always burns. But at that moment, it was so low and I had to get over all the fears that I had. Today, I feel comfortable, so, little by little, things can start improving.”
She hopes she can be an example for other gymnasts and inspire them to not give up and continue chasing their dreams. She also hopes her friend Larisa Iordache who’s also been struggling with a series of injuries in the past few years will be able to come back strong:
“I know she’s recovering, she’s fighting, too. And I know she will do it because she loves the sport.”
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