Romania’s Cătălina Ponor is one of the four gymnastics legends to be honored at the 28th annual International Gymnastics Hall of Fame (IGHOF) induction ceremony on May 17, according to an official announcement. The event will be held at the Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City.

The 2025 IGHOF inductees are Beth Tweddle, Andreas Wecker, and Cătălina Ponor, while Paul Ziert is the 2025 Frank Bare Award Honoree.

Nominated in 2022 for inclusion in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, Cătălina Ponor was unable to attend the 25th ceremony in Oklahoma, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation said.

A participant in three Olympic Games (2004, 2012, and 2016), Ponor is the 12th representative of Romanian gymnastics inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, after Nadia Comăneci (1993), Bela Karolyi (1997), Ecaterina Szabo (2000), Teodora Ungureanu (2001), Daniela Silivaş (2002), Simona Amânar (2007), Octavian Bellu (2009), Lavinia Miloşovici (2011), Gina Gogean (2013), Aurelia Dobre (2016), and Andreea Răducan (2018).

In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, she won three gold medals (team, balance beam, and floor exercise). At the 2012 London Olympics, she earned a silver medal on floor and a bronze in the team event. In 2016, at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she was the flag-bearer for Romania at the opening ceremony.

Ponor’s achievements include 18 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and European Championships.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Konstantin Pukhov/Dreamstime.com)