Celestina Popa

Career In 1984 Popa placed second at the Romanian Junior Nationals and she became a member of the national team. In 1985 she was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 1985 World Championships. Also in 1985, she was the all around champion, vault and beam gold medalist at the International Chunichi Cup in Japan. Apparatus Name Description DifficultyFloor exercise Popa Straddle pike jump with 1/1 turn (360°) C (0.3)

Post-retirement After retiring from competitions in 1989 she studied at a sport school in Bucharest until 1991, and in 1994 graduated from university with a degree in physical education. She hold the National Romanian Coaching Certification Level III. Popa has been coaching since 1991, and since 1994 she has been a recreational coach at Flicka Gymnastics in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is married to fellow former Romanian gymnast Flaviu Toma, who was a longtime head coach and technical director at Flicka. In 2009, she opened her own gym "Celestina Popa Gymnastics" in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.