On December 20, Beijing time, according to Romanian media reports, gymnast Larissa officially retired and will transform into a coach early next year.
The 25-year-old Larissa, known as the "Goddess of Sorrow" because of her ill-fated fate, has a beautiful and moving appearance and world-class strength, but has not been favored by the goddess of luck, and her sports career has always missed the title of world champion. Known as a gifted girl at the beginning of her debut, Larissa regretted not winning an individual medal at the 2012 London Olympics because she was plagued by fasciitis. In the Rio Olympic cycle, Larissa was the number one player in the "despite the defeat" (author's note: here refers to the second only to the American gymnastics queen Byers), but he did not qualify for the Olympic games because of injury. At the 2017 Gymnastics World Championships, Larissa was unanimously optimistic about reaching the top of the championship podium by the media at home and abroad, but was accidentally seriously injured because of a simple warm-up action, and was carried out of the field by the coach with tears.
In the years since, Larissa has repeatedly struggled with various injuries, constantly oscillating between injury, recovery, and injury again and again. After overcoming the ordeal of COVID-19 positive + sudden kidney disease, Larissa narrowly qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but was rushed to the hospital for treatment due to fever and abdominal pain on the night of the race. Near the Tokyo Olympics, Larissa not only suffered the loss of her mother, but also injured her fragile ankle once again. Larissa, who won the Olympic balance beam final with an injury, tearfully withdrew from the competition because of a worsening foot injury. Even the media, which has always been harsh, is full of pity for the experience of this gymnastics girl. With encouragement from gymnastics fans from all over the world, he accompanied Larissa through the dark two months.
After much deliberation, Larissa, who is no longer young for female gymnasts, finally made the decision to retire. Leaving Larissa will not leave gymnastics, she will be determined to continue to contribute to the Romanian women's gymnastics as a coaching assistant early next year. At the end of her 20-year career as a gymnast, Larissa said goodbye with the phrase "Everything is the result of choices, follow your heart, and make the best choice for yourself."