UPDATE May 12, 2016: The Romanian Federation has confirmed Larisa Iordache is still in the running for Rio. Read more here. Original story below.

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Catalina Ponor is expected to represent Romania at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Romanian media reports. Romania failed to qualify a full team to the Games, but earned an individual spot. It was initially reported that the Romanian federation would choose between Ponor and Larisa Iordache, but an injury suggests Iordache will not be in competition shape for the Olympics, which would give the spot to Ponor.

Iordache earned bronze all-around at the 2015 World Championships and silver all-around at the 2014 World Championships. She's been the leader of the Romanian team this entire quad, and with her talent and experience, she looked to have a good shot at finishing on the podium this summer.

However, Iordache fractured a finger in March—just 39 days before the Rio Test Event, which was Romania's final opportunity to qualify a full team to Rio. Iordache underwent surgery, and on April 25, she posted that her finger was healed and she was able to resume training.

Finger successfully recovered. Full training can start. #newstart #happyweek #positivevibes

— Larisa Iordache (@Larisa_Iordache) April 25, 2016

But it seems Iordache's recovery did not go as expected, and she underwent a second surgery on Wednesday. The extent of Iordache's injury has not yet been announced, nor has it been confirmed that she is out of the running for the Olympics.

Read part of Adevarul's report below, as translated by Google:

The only place available for free there were two names, Catalina Ponor and Larisa Iordache, the Federation wanted to organize a contest. But things were simplified as Larisa Iordache was operated again at hand after he had done this in March because of a fractured finger.

Larisa then went to Vienna, but the recovery did not go as he expected, so he required further surgery. In this way, it became available for the Olympic Games in Rio, which will be our only representative Catalina Ponor.

Olympic gold medalist Ponor retired from gymnastics following the London Olympics, where she earned silver on floor and bronze with the team. Nearly three years later, Ponor officially announced her return to elite gymnastics in March of 2015. An injury held her out of the 2015 World Championships, but Ponor competed at the Rio Test Event in April.

Ponor has been documenting her training on social media with videos of new skills. Just today, she posted a video of a full-in dismount off beam.




Related:
Ponor Powering Through: Training Updates on Instagram
Larisa Iordache Sustains Broken Finger, Out of Test Event
Octavian Bellu and Mariana Bitang Return to Coach Romania