Romanian gymnast Catalina Ponor, a triple Olympic gold medalist, has refused the Social Democratic Party’s proposal to run for Parliament in the December elections.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), the biggest political party in Romania, announced on Thursday that Ponor would be included on an eligible place for the Chamber of Deputies on the party’s list for the parliamentary elections. Catalina Ponor said she received a proposal from PSD a few days back but that she didn’t answer it and that PSD made the announcement without her consent.

“I will not make politics, it’s not for me. They say it’s a dirty job and I don’t want to throw my name in this after years of work in gymnastics based on my own efforts and sacrifices,” Ponor said in an interview with local news.ro.

“If we were in a civilized country, with normal politics, maybe it would have been worth doing it,” she added.

Ponor said she wanted to focus on her sports career, as long as she can still continue with gymnastics. She recently announced that she would prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. She was Romania’s only woman gymnast who competed in the Rio Olympics, where she was also Romania's flag bearer, but didn’t manage to win any medal.

Catalina Ponor won three gold medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and silver and bronze at the London Olympics in 2012.

It's common practice for big political parties in Romania to approach athletes, artists, and other popular personalities to run on their lists, and thus get more voters. Former tennis player Ilie Nastase and football coach Anghel Iordanescu have both won MP seats in Romania's Parliament.

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editor@romania-insider.com