Maria Holbură

Maria Holbură was born on 16 September 2000 in Constanța. Her father, Ioan Holbură, is a former wrestler.{{cite web |title=Gimnasta Maria Holbura, al 49-lea membru al Echipei Romaniei care va participa la Jocurile Olimpice de la Tokyo, din 2020 |url=https://www.cosr.ro/stiri/2019-10-07/gimnasta-maria-holbura-al-49lea-membru-al-echipei-romaniei-care-va-participa-la-jocurile-olimpice-de-la-tokyo-d |website=Romanian Olympic Committee |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=Romanian |date=7 October 2019}} She began gymnastics at the age of five after a coach, Sorin Bechir, held a gymnastics audition in her kindergarten class.{{cite web |title=HOLBURA Maria |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=40955 |website=FIG |access-date=7 April 2021}} She left her home at age twelve to train in Deva.{{cite web |title=Maria a renunţat la copilărie şi a plecat de la 12 ani de acasă. În 2021 va reprezenta România la Jocurile Olimpice de la Tokyo |url=https://www.digisport.ro/gimnastica/maria-a-renuntat-la-copilarie-si-a-plecat-de-la-12-ani-de-acasa-in-2021-va-reprezenta-romania-la-jocurile-olimpice-de-la-tokyo-981367 |website=DigiSport |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=Romanian |date=7 January 2021}} Holbură spends her free time painting. On painting, she stated, "I like it very much, sometimes I come upset from training because I didn't get anything, but when I get to the room I start painting and I pass. It relaxes me extraordinarily."{{cite web |title=Artista care a plecat de acasă la 12 ani și va reprezenta România la Olimpiadă: "Pictura mă relaxează extraordinar" |url=https://www.digisport.ro/gimnastica/artista-care-a-plecat-de-acasa-la-12-si-va-reprezenta-romania-la-jocurile-olimpice-pictura-ma-relaxeaza-extraordinar-1011892 |website=DigiSport |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=Romanian |date=22 February 2021}}

Holbură made her international debut at the 2014 International Gymnix in Montreal where she finished nineteenth in the all-around and fifth on the floor exercise.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2014 International Gymnix Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2014/03/09/2014-international-gymnix-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=9 March 2014}} She then competed at the 2014 Coupe Avenir in Malmedy, Belgium, where Romania placed first ahead of Belgium and Canada, and Holbură placed fourth in the all-around and on vault.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=Romania and Canada Split Gold Medals at Coupe Avenir |url=https://thegymter.net/2014/11/26/romania-and-canada-split-gold-medals-at-coupe-avenir/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=10 May 2021 |date=26 November 2014}} She competed at the 2015 Elite Gym Massilia in Marseille, France, where she finished thirteenth in the all-around with a score of 54.200.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2015 Elite Gym Massilia Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2015/11/20/2015-elite-gym-massilia-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=20 November 2015}}

Holbură's first year of being age-eligible for senior international competitions was 2016. She made her senior international debut at the Belgium Friendly where Romania finished second behind Belgium, and Holbură placed tenth in the all-around.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2016 Belgium Friendly Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2016/04/03/2016-belgium-friendly/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=3 April 2016}} She was selected to compete at the Olympic Test Event alongside Diana Bulimar, Anamaria Ocolișan, Cătălina Ponor, Dora Vulcan, and Silvia Zarzu. She contributed on three apparatuses, and she scored a 12.866 on the uneven bars, a 13.533 on the balance beam, and a 13.541 on the floor exercise.{{cite web |title=Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2016/olympic-test-event/documents/wag/teams.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=Rio Test Events |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=17 April 2016}} However, the team finished seventh and did not qualify for the Olympic Games.{{cite web |last1=Lupu |first1=Victor |title=Gymnastics: Romania Women's And Men's Teams Fail To Qualify To Rio Olympics |url=https://www.romaniajournal.ro/sports/gymnastics-romania-womens-and-mens-teams-fail-to-qualify-to-rio-olympics/ |website=Romania Journal |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=18 April 2016}} She then competed at the Encuentro Internacional, which was a competition between Spain and Romania. She won the gold medal on the balance beam and placed third in the all-around with a total score of 54.600.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2016 Encuentro Internacional Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2016/05/07/2016-encuentro-internacional-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=10 May 2021 |date=7 May 2016}}

Holbură then competed with Anda Butuc, Ocolișan, Ponor, and Zarzu at the European Championships. In the qualifying round, she competed on three events and scored a 13.333 on the uneven bars, a 13.700 on the balance beam, and a 13.633 on the floor exercise.{{cite web |title=31st European Championships in Women's Artistic Gymnastics Seniors and Juniors Senior Qualifications |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2016/euros/documents/wagsen/teamsqual.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=UEG |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=2 June 2016}} In the qualification round, Romania placed fourth, and they went on to finish sixth in the team final.{{cite web |title=31st European Championships in Women's Artistic Gymnastics Seniors and Juniors Senior Team Final |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2016/euros/documents/wagsen/teamsfinal.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=UEG |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=4 June 2016}} At the Romanian Championships, she won the bronze medal on the uneven bars on the floor exercise.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2016 Romanian Championships |url=https://thegymter.net/2016-romanian-championships/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=10 May 2021}} Her final competition of the season was the Gymnasiade in Trabzon, Turkey, and she won the silver medal on the floor exercise with a score of 13.733.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2016 Gymnasiade Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2016/07/18/2016-gymnasiade-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=10 May 2021 |date=18 July 2016}}

Holbură competed at the World Cup in Osijek where she finished eighth on uneven bars.{{cite web |title=Osijek 2017 uneven bars |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2017/osijek-world-cup/documents/wagaf2ub.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=21 May 2017}} She competed at the Gym Festival Trnava which was held from 3–4 June in Trnava, Slovakia, and she placed sixth in the all-around.{{cite web |title=Gym - Festival 2017 All-Around Results |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2017/gym-festival-trnava/documents/senaa.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=3 June 2017}} She then competed at the Romanian Championships where she won the bronze medal on the uneven bars and placed fifth in the all-around.{{cite web |title=2017 Romanian Nationals: Event Finals |url=http://www.thecouchgymnast.com/2017/09/03/2017-romanian-nationals-event-finals/ |website=The Couch Gymnast |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=3 September 2017}} Her final competition of the year was the World Cup in Szombathely where she finished fourth on balance beam.{{cite web |title=Results for FIG World Challenge Cup 2017, SZOMBATHELY 2017 (HUN) |url=https://database.fig-gymnastics.com/public/results/display/14991?csrfToken=55af039317a2e712f7c5ac4b587ee6a2e7c5b2d8-1617818571011-1a06f4f3cac96c5be28fe935&backUrl=&idAgeCategory=4&idCategory=68&idFederation= |website=FIG |access-date=7 April 2021}}

Holbură began her 2018 season at the World Cup in Doha, but she did not advance to any of the event finals. She then went to the City of Jesolo Trophy where she finished twenth-ninth in the all-around.{{cite web |title=City of Jesolo Trophy |url=https://www.flogymnastics.com/results/6174724-2018-city-of-jesolo-trophy/24225 |website=FloGymnastics |access-date=7 April 2021}} Then at the World Cup in Osijek, she placed fifth on the balance beam and sixth on the floor exercise.{{cite web |title=FIG World Challenge Cup Osijek (CRO) 2018 May 24-27 |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2018/osijek-world-cup/index.html |website=Gymnastics Results |access-date=7 April 2021}} At the Romanian Championships, she placed sixth in the all-around and won the silver medal on the uneven bars and the bronze medal on the floor exercise.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2018 Romanian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2018/10/13/2018-romanian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=13 October 2018}} She was then selected to compete at the World Championships along with Ioana Crișan, Denisa Golgotă, Nica Ivanus, and Carmen Ghiciuc where they finished thirteenth and qualified as a team to the 2019 World Championships.{{cite web |title=48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Women's Team Qualification. |url=https://www.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18worlds_teamqual.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |publisher=FIG |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=27 October 2018}}

Holbură competed at the World Cup in Osijek where she finished fifth on the floor exercise. Holbură said that she considered retiring in 2019 due to ongoing injuries and health problems, but she ultimately decided to stay to help team Romania at the World Championships in their quest to qualify as a team for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She competed at the World Championships with Ioana Crișan, Carmen Ghiciuc, and Denisa Golgotă where they finished twenty-second in the qualification round.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2019 World Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2019/10/17/2019-world-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=17 October 2019}} This is the lowest the Romanian women have ever placed as a team at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, and they did not qualify as a team for the Olympics.{{cite web |title=Maria Holbură goes to JO Tokyo! |url=https://vaaju.com/romaniaeng/maria-holbura-goes-to-jo-tokyo/ |website=Vaaju |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=6 October 2019}} However, Holbură qualified an individual spot for the Olympics.{{cite web |last1=Giuclea |first1=Andreea |title=Povestea Mariei Holbură și a drumului ei neobișnuit spre Tokyo. Sau cum îți poți împlini visul exact când nu te mai aștepți |url=https://lead.ro/povestea-mariei-holbura-si-a-drumului-ei-neobisnuit-spre-tokyo-sau-cum-iti-poti-implini-visul-exact-cand-nu-te-mai-astepti/ |website=Lead |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=Romanian |date=12 January 2020}} She noted that because she had decided to retire after the World Championships, she felt less pressure which led to her having a better competition. Holbură stated after their performance, "I didn't know if it was true... Everyone told me that I was the only one qualified for the Olympics and only I could go there. I called my mother and she started to cry, [but] I was also very sorry that [the team did not qualify]."

After the World Championships, Holbură had surgery in Vienna for tendon pain in her foot that had been ongoing since 2017.

Holbură competed at the Romanian Championships where she finished ninth in the all-around. On the next day of the competition for event finals, Holbură only competed on the uneven bars and balance beam and withdrew on the other events due to ankle pain.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2020 Romanian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2020/11/21/2020-romanian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=14 June 2021 |date=21 November 2021}} Although Holbură was initially named to Romania's team for the European Championships,{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=Iordache Added to Euros Team After Triumphant Comeback |url=https://thegymter.net/2020/12/07/iordache-added-to-euros-team-after-triumphant-comeback/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=7 December 2020}} she was later removed in favor of Daniela Trică.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=Can COVID Put Romania Back On Top? |url=https://thegymter.net/2020/12/15/can-covid-put-romania-back-on-top/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=15 December 2020}}

Holbură was initially named as an alternate for the European Championships. However, when Silviana Sfiringu and Ioana Stănciulescu both withdrew due to injuries, they were replaced by Maria Ceplinschi, and Holbură was not added to the team because she was "insufficiently prepared".{{cite web |title=Verificările au decis gimnaștii pentru Europene! |url=http://frgimnastica.com/news/25 |website=Federația Română de Gimnastică |access-date=14 June 2021 |language=Romanian |date=5 May 2021}} After the European Championships, Holbură switched coaches to train with Lăcrămioara Filip and Cristian Moldovan alongside Larisa Iordache in Bucharest as they both prepared for the Olympic Games.{{cite web |title=Maria Holbură, încă o șansă! |url=http://frgimnastica.com/news/35 |website=Federația Română de Gimnastică |access-date=14 June 2021 |language=Romanian |date=13 April 2021}} Holbură and Iordache both competed at the Cairo World Challenge Cup, and Holbură was the reserve for both the balance beam and floor exercise event finals.{{cite web |title=Larisa Iordache, prima în calificări la Cupa Mondială |url=http://frgimnastica.com/news/53 |website=Federația Română de Gimnastică |access-date=14 June 2021 |language=Romanian |date=4 May 2021}}

At the Olympic Games, Holbură finished sixty-fifth in the all-around during the qualification round with a total score of 49.166.{{cite web |title=Artistic Gymnastics Women's All-Around Qualification |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2021/olympics/documents/wag/wag_quals_aa.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=International Olympic Committee |access-date=17 December 2021 |date=25 July 2021}} On 10 August, she announced her retirement from gymnastics on her Instagram account.

{{Reflist}}

• {{FIG|bio=40955|lic=28493|name=Maria Holbura}}
• {{instagram|mariaholbura|Maria Holbură}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbură, Maria}}

Category:2000 births

Category:Living people

Category:Romanian female artistic gymnasts

Category:Sportspeople from Constanța

Category:Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Category:Olympic gymnasts for Romania

Category:21st-century Romanian sportswomen