Nickname
Dodi (Facebook page, 03 Sep 2016)
Hobbies
Designing leotards, walking her dog. (melogym.com, 24 Oct 2015)
Occupation
Business Owner, Coach
Education
Health Promotion, Sports Science - Eotvos Lorand University [ELTE], Budapest, HUN
Spoken languages
English, German, Hungarian
National Team
2004 (fig-gymnastics.com, 19 Jun 2016)
Start sporting career
She took up gymnastics at age four, and got involved in aerobics at age six. (lauracristache.com, 10 Mar 2014)
Reason for taking up the sport
"My mother took me to the gym when I was a kid, because I had horrible 'knock-kneed' legs. We started some basic steps in gymnastics and some years later our whole club started to change to aerobic gymnastics. At that time aerobic gymnastics was very popular and successful in Hungary so my coaches decided to change to try something new." (lauracristache.com, 10 Mar 2014)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning silver in the mixed pairs event at the 2016 World Championships in Incheon, Republic of Korea, winning group gold with the Hungarian team at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, and winning individual gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2015 European Championships in Elvas, Portugal. (samsoniskola.hu, 09 Jun 2017)
Hero / Idol
Spanish aerobic gymnasts Sara Moreno and Jonatan Canada. (melogym.com, 24 Oct 2015; lauracristache.com, 10 Mar 2014)
Philosophy / Motto
"Hard work beats talent any day." (melogym.com, 24 Oct 2015)
Awards
In June 2017 she was presented with the Bekessy Bela sports scholarship from the municipality of Debrecen in Hungary, in recognition of her results in previous years. (hajdupress.hu, 22 Jun 2017)
Additional information
General
RETIREMENT
She retired from the sport in September 2017. Her final competition was the 2017 European championships in Ancona, Italy. "I was not a super-talented competitor, so I had to do a lot of work to get here. It was very important for me to set an example to the new generation. I wanted to prove that not only the geniuses get to the top." (nemzetisport.hu, 02 Nov 2017; melogym.com, 10 Sep 2017)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
In June 2016 she was elected to serve as an athletes' representative with the International Gymnastics Federation [FIG] from 2017 through to 2020. "For me the most important thing is to really communicate with the athletes. We want to improve this sport. I would love to represent the group of athletes as a whole and to give a voice to what athletes need." (melogym.com, 10 Sep 2017; Instagram profile, 30 Jun 2017; fig-gymnastics.com, 19 Jun 2016)
BUSINESS
She owns 'Leotards with Love', a business that produces handmade gymnastics leotards. (melogym.com, 10 Sep 2017; Instagram profile, 30 Jun 2017)
Last update : 2018-02-28