No Fear Romanian Gymnast Learned Her Sport Under Threats And Physical Abuse, But Only Came To Love It After Moving Here

With country music in the background during warmups at Spokane Elite Gymnastics it was difficult to tell San Jose State gymnast Ioana Ojog from the local teenagers.

At 4-foot-10 and 95 pounds, Ojog looks no older than the youngsters, despite the fact that the Romanian expatriate will turn 20 a week from Saturday.

Ojog (pronounced O-zhog) is the foster child of Bob and Nancy Ito, who moved to the Spokane Valley last summer and recently purchased the gymnastics club. She has lived in the United States for four years since coming with her coaches and teammates from Bucharest.

Hers is an intriguing story: She excelled at gymnastics because of fear in an autocratic system, but came to love the sport after arriving in the United States.

She will tell her story at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3606 S. Schafer Road Sunday at 11 a.m.

The youngest child of Grigore and Maria Ojog began gymnastics at age 6 in Bucharest.

“My coach came to school, selected a few girls randomly and we tried out,” she said.

Ojog ultimately reached junior national team status, at the price of oppressive eight-hour practices every day.

“I lived at home but didn’t see my family very much,” said Ojog. “Practice was strict.”

So strict that at one time she tried to quit, leaving for two weeks.

“During that period they would not stop calling my friends and family, saying they would ruin my future,” said Ojog. “Dad got tired of it and said I had to go back. It was not doing me or my family any good.”

Romanian gymnastics produced Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci and meant a better life in an East Bloc country then under the communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu.

It also would prove to be a way out of the country for Ojog’s coaches.

They had come in contact with someone from the Oregon Gymnastic Academy who had gone to Bucharest as a judge. They worked out an exchange to bring the coaches and students to Portland.

“We came here just to visit,” said Ojog. “I guess once here the coaches had something more in mind.”

They continually extended their visas, with no apparent intention of returning to Romania.

“They convinced people that they were good to their athletes and did wonderfully in rough conditions,” said Ito, who met Ojog while coaching at the Portland gymnastics school.

Allegations of abuse eventually surfaced from the girls.

“They expected us to be perfect and know a skill on the first try,” said Ojog. “Sometimes it didn’t work and they would hit us.”

Ito said that because Ojog was with them longest, they abused her most.

The coaches ultimately were no longer permitted to work, although they denied wrongdoing. It was an opportunity for Ojog and others to quit a sport she had grown to dislike.

Club coaches kept the door open for their return about the time she became a ward of the Itos.

“That’s when I started to enjoy it again,” she said. “My skill level dropped. I had really been doing it because I was afraid and didn’t have that structure. But I really had fun.”

Ojog is still not at her previous level, but she is good enough to compete at San Jose State, where she is a sophomore majoring in nutrition.

“Fear works, but is it ultimately healthy?” asked Ito. “We can produce excellent athletes” without it.

Although Romania has become more democratic since she left, Ojog is not sure she will return. She said she has a better chance of finding a career here. Much depends upon whether she can visit her native country or bring her parents here.

She credits a newfound faith in God with helping her over the rough spots. Raised an Orthodox Christian in Romania, Ojog never really practiced religion until she began studying the Bible with Nancy Ito.

“There are hard times in life,” she said, “but they can be overcome because you are not alone anymore.”

It is that message she passes on to members of Redeemer Lutheran and the girls she works out with at Spokane Elite Gymnastics when she comes back to her new home.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Club owner and coach an accomplished gymnast Gymnastics played a big part in Bob Ito’s life before Romanian Ioana Ojog came into it. Ito moved to the Valley with his wife, Nancy, and two boys in June to become coach of and eventually purchase Spokane Elite Gymnastics. The Itos liked what they saw about the area. “Other than passing through, I hadn’t seen Spokane,” said Ito. “My impression of Eastern Washington was not the best.” They bought a home in the Valley and became members of Redeemer Lutheran Church. “After we got here the couple who owned the business offered the club for sale,” he said. “My wife and I and several parents purchased the club. It all happened in the last 45 days. Ito moved the club to a new facility at E1727 Springfield but hopes someday to run his program in a building built by the church on Schafer Road. Before settling here, he participated in gymnastics and coached high school boys in the Midwest. Between 1981 and 1990, he coached at the University of Washington where his womens’ teams compiled a 180-80 record. Ito first became involved in gymnastics 35 years ago in a junior high near Chicago. His physical education teacher discovered an old trampoline and dragged it out during a break between basketball and track. “I was really, really little and wasn’t big enough for other sports,” said Ito. “I’ll never forget. I got on after waiting a gazillion minutes, took two bounces, did a front flip to my feet and was hooked.” He got in on the ground floor of a school team, made the high school varsity as a freshman and ultimately competed at Iowa State and University of Illinois, Chicago Circle in college. He was a conference champion and fourth-place NCAA finisher in floor exercises. He taught and coached in Illinois high schools and at a club in Hawaii before moving to the UW. He has published two books, one on tumbling and the other on women’s gymnastics. He met Ojog and became her foster parent while coaching at Oregon Gymnastics Academy. Now they are Valley enthusiasts, when she isn’t attending college and competing at San Jose State. “It is a beautiful place to live, the people are friendly and there is a lot of gymnastics talent here,” Ito said. Mike Vlahovich