Ana Bǎrbosu of Romania recently stunned the gymnastics world with her announcement that she had committed to Stanford University for gymnastics. Bǎrbosu is notable because she was the Romanian gymnast involved in the dispute with American gymnast Jordan Chiles over the bronze medal in the floor exercise at last year’s Olympics. In case you missed it: Bǎrbosu and her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea were tied in third place with a score of 13.700. Chiles competed last and received a score of 13.666, placing her in fifth. Chiles’ coach, Cecile Landi, believed the judges may not have given Chiles credit for a leap element she attempted, so the coach filed an inquiry. The inquiry was accepted and Chiles’ score was raised to 13.766, placing her in third and bumping the two Romanians off the podium. After the competition, the Romanians argued in the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the appeal had been filed too late and argued all three gymnasts should receive the bronze medal. The court ultimately decided the bronze would be awarded solely to Bǎrbosu.
Bǎrbosu and her 2024 Olympic teammate, Lilia Cosman, who has committed to Michigan State University, will become the first Romanian NCAA gymnasts. Though these two will be the first from Romania, international athletes are not uncommon among NCAA gymnasts. Most come from Canada, some come from Australia and England and a number are from smaller Latin American and European countries. Pauline Tratz of UCLA, for example, was a recent high-profile international gymnast from Karlsruhe, Germany. One interesting detail is that Levi Ruivivar, who competed alongside Bǎrbosu at the Olympics representing the Philippines, was her host during the recruiting visit.
Bǎrbosu’s commitment is especially notable because Stanford is scheduled to compete against UCLA this season, and thus, the Romanian gymnast may go head-to-head against Jordan Chiles once more at UCLA. When browsing through the list of international gymnasts currently competing in the NCAA, the Alaska Seawolves roster caught my attention. Almost half of their team are international! Kacey Pratley moved from Bristol, England to Anchorage, Alaska to compete for the Seawolves. Jamilia Duffus moved from Jamaica to compete in Alaska after a brief stint at Talladega College. Marcela Bonifasi hails from Guatemala, and Maria Jose Prieto comes from Mexico. Alaska rounds out its roster with a number of Canadian athletes: Montana Fairbairn from Alberta, Hayley Perkins and Jada Niles from Ontario and Avery Tillmans from Saskatchewan. Lastly, Grace Wellington has come all the way from New Zealand to join the team in Anchorage.
I’m curious about the reason behind the team’s international lean. Alaska has such a unique program, with a demanding travel schedule due to its remote location. Though it is a state university, there are no athletes from Alaska on the roster — likely because the state lacks a well-developed gymnastics club system. It may also be tough to recruit from the lower 48 states, which could explain the international focus. Still, making the jump from Guatemala to Alaska must be quite the culture shock.
