| Ana Maria Bican | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Country represented |
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Born |
March 30 1980 |
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Club |
CSS Deva |
|
Coach(es) |
Toma Ponoran, Octavian Belu & Mariana Bitang |
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Current status |
Retired |
Ana Maria Bican (b. March 30, 1980 in Zărnești, Romania) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast. Bican was originally named to the 1996 Romanian Olympic team however she was unfortunately injured the day before the competition and could not compete. Her best event was vault.
Career[]
Bican began her gymnastics career at the age of 6 years old at CSS Onesti. She began her junior international elite career in 1992 at the Avignon International. That year Bican also helped her team win a gold medal in the team competition at the 1992 Junior European Championships. In 1993 Bican and her personal coach Toma Ponoran moved to train at CSS Deva. She competed at the European Youth Olympic Days competition where she earned a silver medal with the Romanian team as well as gold medals on both vault and uneven bars and a silver medal on balance beam. The next year Bican won a gold medal on vault and a bronze medal in the all-around at the 1994 Junior European Championships. Later that year Bican competed in the Goodwill Games where she helped her team to a silver medal in the team competition and placed 4th in the vault final. In 1995 Bican traveled to America to compete at the American Cup where she placed 2nd in the all-around. Bican was known for her consistency and earned a spot on the Romanian team for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The day before the competition Bican injured her knee while vaulting and had to have emergency surgery. This knee injury ended up being career-ending.
Medal Count[]
| Year | Event | TF | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Avignon Junior International | 4 | |||||
| Nantes Junior European Championships | 1st | ||||||
| 1993 | Swiss Cup | 5 | |||||
| Arthur Gander Memorial | 6 | ||||||
| European Youth Olympic Days | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | |||
| 1994 | Romanian National Championships | 3rd | 3rd | ||||
| St. Petersburg Goodwill Games | 2nd | 4 | |||||
| Stockholm Junior European Championships | 3rd | 1st | 7 | 7 | |||
| 1995 | Romanian National Championships | 3rd | 3rd | ||||
| McDonald's American Cup | 2nd | ||||||
| International Mixed Pairs | 1st |