Abuse saga sparks storm, forces legendary national elite coach, Camelia Voinea, to the sidelines as probe intensifies
The Executive Committee of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation formally announced the immediate full suspension of Camelia Voinea from any activity carried out under the federation's umbrella, as the Disciplinary Commission concluded that the multiple allegations of mistreatment levelled against her are so serious that they go beyond the sporting sphere and require a criminal investigation by the competent state authorities.
In response, the body has frozen its own internal sporting proceedings and handed the case entirely to Romania's ordinary justice system.
The inquiry gathered momentum after public statements made by elite gymnast Denisa Golgotă, followed by accounts from other national-team athletes, including Mara Ceplinschi and Anamaria Mihaescu. Golgotă alleged, in explicit terms, that Voinea threatened her with severe violence, "She even said she would hit me until I was disfigured and needed plastic surgery".
Further fuel was added by an ex-gymnast from the Farul Constanta club, where Voinea coached after retiring, who has now delivered deeply disturbing revelations about her methods. In an interview with local outlet GOLAZO.ro, she accused the coach of physical and psychological abuse that pushed her towards suicidal thoughts.
Although the case has now erupted on a wider international stage, it first drew public attention in November 2025, when footage circulated in Romanian media that appeared to show Voinea verbally mistreating her daughter, Sabrina. The veteran is not merely another coach: she is an Olympic silver medallist from Seoul 1988, and the mother and coach of Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, the Romanian star at the centre of the major floor-scoring controversy at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite the video, Sabrina Voinea, now 18, publicly defended her mother. She explained she was "never mistreated or forced into anything" and that her mother has been the cornerstone of her sporting success. Camelia, for her part, argued that the videos are old, that the federation had been aware of them for years, and that they were simply ignored at the time.
The pressure endured by gymnasts is well known; the discipline is widely regarded as one of the most demanding sports in the world. Careers begin early, the physical and mental control required is extreme, and retirement often arrives before an athlete's thirties, sometimes after necessary pauses to return stronger, as in the much-discussed case of American Simone Biles, considered by many the greatest of all time.
Voinea's profile as an elite coach is unusual and highly centralised, resting almost entirely on one defining success: her daughter, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Unlike the towering names in Romanian gymnastics, Voinea's record lacks major team titles and is instead focused on developing individual skills.
During the 1990s and 2000s, her primary role was talent identification at Farul Constanta. Her most notable indirect achievement in that period was shaping, in her early years, Cătălina Ponor, who would later win three Olympic gold medals at Athens 2004, though under the final direction of the national coaching staff.
Voinea's real leap into the international spotlight as a lead coach came through coaching her daughter. Her most prominent results include Paris 2024, where she guided the then 16-year-old Sabrina into Olympic finals, with the gymnast finishing just outside the medals in the controversial floor final, 5th place, following arbitration issues linked to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
At major global championships, she qualified Sabrina for the final at the Antwerp World Championships 2023, 4th on floor, and was part of the national set-up at the Jakarta World Championships 2025. She also helped secure two silver medals with her daughter at the Rimini European Championships 2024, beam and floor.
Comments
Post a Comment