Larisa Iordache

Larisa Andreea Iordache (born 19 June 1996) is a former Romanian artistic gymnast.

The Romanian press referred to Iordache as "The New Nadia" as early as 2008, when she was 12, due to her skills and potential.

She became a member of the junior national team in 2008, and she was coached by Ramona Micu, Adela Popa, Lacramioara Moldovan, and Claudiu Moldovan.

In 2008, she began receiving press attention in Romania comparing her to Nadia Comăneci, the 1976 Olympic all-around champion.

Iordache later said of the comparison that "I feel honored to be compared to Nadia, but every gymnast has her own qualities and every gymnast is good enough on her own and doesn't have to be compared to anyone."

Iordache made her junior international debut at the 2009 Top Gym Trophy in Charleroi, Belgium.

She won a bronze medal in the team event with Diana Bulimar and Slovenian gymnasts Rebeka Sarec and Tatjana Holeczek.

Individually, she won a gold medal in the all-around and on the balance beam.

Iordache's first major international competition was the European Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

She contributed an all-around score of 55.550 toward the Romanian team's second-place finish behind Russia.

Iordache won the bronze medal in the all-around final behind Russians Viktoria Komova and Anastasia Grishina, with a score of 55.675.

In the event finals, she placed fourth on vault, scoring 13.862, second on balance beam scoring 14.575, and tied first on floor with Anastasia Grishina, scoring 14.275.

In September, Iordache competed at the Romanian Championships in Reșița.

She won the all around competition with a score of 58.400, nearly four points ahead of second-place teammate Diana Bulimar.

Then in October, she competed at the Schiltigheim International in Schiltigheim, France.

She won the all-around final with a score of 58.000.

She placed second on vault behind France's Elodie Perez scoring 14.350, first on uneven bars, scoring 14.250, first on balance beam scoring 14.900, and first on floor scoring 14.500.

In May, Iordache competed as a guest at the French Team Championships, held in Toulouse.

She contributed an all-around score of 58.800 towards Alliance Dijon's first-place finish.

The Alliance Dijon team included Iordache, Daniela Andrei, and Raluca Haidu from Romania, and French gymnasts Sophia Serseri, Laurie Antoniazzi, and Julie Roemer.

Then in June, Iordache competed at the Gym Festival in Trnava, Slovakia, where 29 gymnasts from nine countries competed.

She won the all-around final with a score of 59.500, and she finished nearly two points ahead of two-time Olympian Anna Pavlova.

In the event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 14.250, first on balance beam scoring 15.600, and first on floor exercise scoring 14.850.

She represented Romania at the 2012 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal with the team, and at the 2020 Olympic Games.

In her first year of competition as a senior, Iordache won two gold medals at the 2012 European Championships, with her team and on floor exercise.

She then won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the team competition.

Iordache is the 2013 World bronze medalist on floor exercise, the 2014 World silver medalist in the all-around and on floor exercise, and the 2015 World bronze medalist in the all-around.

Iordache was the 2013 European champion on beam, and the most successful gymnast at the 2014 European Championships, winning gold with her team and as an individual on floor exercise, silver on balance beam, and bronze on vault.

She won bronze on beam at the 2017 European Championships, held in her home country in Cluj-Napoca.

She is also a twelve-time gold medalist in the World Cups and the 2017 Universiade champion in the all-around and on floor exercise.

Iordache was born in Bucharest, Romania, where she still lives today.

Her mother, Adriana Iordache, was a handball player, and her father played football.

She has an older brother named Răzvan who also plays football.

Iordache was introduced to gymnastics after being spotted rollerblading by her first coach, Mariana Câmpeanu-Silişteanu.

Câmpeanu-Silişteanu asked Iordache's mother to put her into gymnastics classes, and although her mother was initially reluctant, Iordache began gymnastics at the age of five.

When explaining how she began gymnastics, Iordache stated, "I think [Câmpeanu-Silişteanu] noticed the speed and the energy and that impressed her. I didn't choose gymnastics – it chose me. It just happened. I am very glad to have got so far."

She also said that on her first day of training, she was too afraid to go into the gym, but after three days, she went into the gym and then she fell in love with gymnastics.

Iordache began her gymnastics training at CSS Dinamo Club in Bucharest.

In 2020, she came back from a three-year break to win gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2020 European Championships, along with a silver with her team and as an individual on vault.

Overall, Iordache has won sixteen medals at the European Championships, making her the second most decorated gymnast at the European level behind Svetlana Khorkina.