[This interview appeared originally in DEMOKRATA, an illustrated Hungarian weekly magazine. It was provided to me by a member of the newsgroup soc.culture.magyar. Unfortunately, I do not know the date when the interview was first published. But from the context, it appears to be from eralier this year (1997), since she talks about her participation in the Atlanta Olympics and the upcoming World University Games.]

Q: Is that good or bad?
A: It's good. In Bekescsaba there is a gymnastics school and the girls are chosen partly based on their parents body type.

Q: And what kind of body must the parents have?
A: Probably not too bulky and not too tall.

Q: How tall are you?
A: 153 centimeters.

Q: Are your parents as short as you?
A: My father is about 168, and my mother is my height.

Q: Why is it important to be so short?
A: Because in gymnastics athletes must be agile. The taller someone is, the harder it is to counteract gravity. It's best to be small and light. That's all.

Q: How did you become a gymnast?
A: My parents brought me to the school. I was four and a half years old.

Q: Is that the best age to start gymnastics?
A: Yes, about four or five years old.

Q: And who had the idea to bring you?
A: My parents both wanted me to do sports of some kind. But it's possible that at that time they didn't think about gymnastics specifically.

Q: Did your sister go there as well?
A: Of course, but she didn't like it. She only did it for a short time. But it appeared that she would have the right body type and be successful. There was a weaker group and I almost joined the weaker team because I didn't really have a strong body. But I was hard working.

Q: At everything?
A: When I was a child I was more so than now. I am starting to do less gymnastics because I have a lot of other things to do.

Q: Like what?
A: For example, I study at a university now.

Q: In the U.S.A.?
A: Yes, I'm studying marketing in San Antonio.

Q: A layman thinks that gymnast girls are abused.
A: But that isn't true, at least not in Bekescsaba. But I've heard that in Russia and China the training system is very cruel.

Q: Is it true that gymnasts are not allowed to mature into women?
A: No, that's not true. It all depends on ability. It's true that when somebody grows quicker they can't do it as well and get good results because their body is not right for gymnastics. But they are not kept from maturing.

Q: Did you have to have a special diet?
A: I wouldn't say "diet". Sometimes we had a diet, but I never had problems with my weight. It's really my luck. It's in my blood that I never had to worry about my weight. I could eat everything.

Q: During the Olympics?
A: Then also. There is a limit weight, but I can eat what I want as long as I'm under that weight.

Q: What is your competition weight?
A: Now it's about 45 kilograms.

Q: Was it the same at the Olympics?
A: No, I weighed 38Kg then. We were working out a lot. There were times when we worked 8 hours every day. But that varied from time to time. There were times when I weighed 10Kg more than now.

Q: When?
A: When I stopped training completely. I just sat around the university and did nothing.

Q: Didn't you miss gymnastics?
A: No, I didn't. I stopped because I didn't want to train any more.

Q: But obviously you didn't get fat.
A: No, but I haven't been slim either. People said I shouldn't gain weight because it's not good for my training, and I didn't like that. They said things behind my back about it. I guess this comes with being more well known than others.

Q: Did popularity come suddenly for you?
A: No, because in 1989 when I won the European Championship in the elite division, I was somewhat known already.

Q: How old were you then?
A: 15.

Q: People say that gymnasts are getting younger and younger, and the age limit is going down.
A: That's not true, because now the age limit is actually higher. Now it's 16 years old, and it was 15 before this year. And they even want to raise it to 17. So it's not true that the age limit is going down, it's the opposite. In Atlanta the Hungarian team was the oldest, and we were the most popular. We did a really good job over there.

Q: Did you have trouble with maturing quickly during your teenage years?
A: Not really. There were times when I went on a break for a week and I would gain 3Kg. In these teenage years, when people don't exercise enough they gain weight quickly. But as soon as I resumed training the weight would disappear.

Q: After these breaks, were you tired when you returned to training?
A: Yes. In one way I was mentally tired, and on the other hand I was in a new environment in the U.S. I wasn't speaking English very well and I had to concentrate on school so I didn't have as much time for training.

Q: Did people recognize you as an Olympic medallist there?
A: No, because I didn't have a sports scholarship.

Q: Didn't you tell them?
A: Why should I? Should I stand up and scream that I'm the famous Olympic champion Henrietta?

Q: Do you have friends that still don't know?
A: My closest friend knows, but I have many acquaintances who have no idea. People are shocked at first when they hear it, but that's all. I sit in the same desks as them, attend the same lectures, study at the same time, and we take the same exams, so they think of me as one of them.

Q: How is the life in this University? How do you spend your day?
A: Just studying and studying.

Q: Is it true that students don't work as hard at American universities?
A: No. We have to study a lot. Especially people for whom English is not their first language.

Q: When you finish will you return to Hungary or settle in the U.S.?
A: I don't know yet. I have plans in Hungary also. We have just started a family business, a fitness center, which unfortunately stopped when my father died. Now I want to put new life into this business, but it's very difficult. I really want to finish that in some way. But my boyfriend is American.

Q: When you were training did you have time for things like boyfriends?
A: Sure. Among the gymnasts, there are nice guys.

Q: And what about your American boyfriend, is he very different from the gymnasts you've known?
A: Not so different, because he's a pentathlete.

Q: Did you meet through the university?
A: No, I met him through a friend of a friend.

Q: Have you felt loved by fans?
A: I've received a lot of letters and there are a lot of people who want to meet me in person. But most of them just wrote that they like me.

Q: Have you answered these letters?
A: Sure. Usually they get a letter with a picture.

Q: In America have you been successful with men?
A: Yes, I have been. For example, I won an eye beauty contest.

Q: If you have a daughter, will she become a gymnast?
A: I wouldn't mind if she became a gymnast, but I wouldn't push her into it. I have really good feelings about the sport, that's why I made it. I think it's good. Even today I still love to compete.

Q: Is it an exciting feeling?
A: Yes. It's a little bit stressful, but not bad. Competition is a time when people can show what they've learned during these 8-hour daily training sessions. That's what this is all for. It's like the stage for an actor. Practice, rehearsal, and more practice. And when the performance starts you can show what you've worked so hard at.

Q: You said that you still enjoy competing, but do you still compete?
A: I compete but not so seriously. Just for pleasure. I'm training now for the next competition for the University, which will be in August. I hope that there won't be any problems between now and then that will interfere with that.

Q: Is it hard for you that they want to see you compete at an Olympic level? I think that's the case even in the collegiate competitions.
A: No, in these competitions it's easier. I probably shouldn't compete four events. In the U.S. the level of competition is very high. Collegiate competitions are equivalent to the Hungarian national championships in terms of competition level.

Q: Would you still be able to win the Hungarian championships?
A: Now? No. I probably wouldn't even go for every event. I wouldn't compete on the uneven bars or the floor.

Q: It helps the school's reputation when you get goods results, doesn't it?
A: Yes, that's one good thing about it.

Q: And when you're back here in Hungary, do you miss the U.S.?
A: It's good here, it's good there. I've adapted to both countries.

Q: How do you help the teams now in Bekescsaba?
A: In the summer, I help my teammates. I teach the first and second graders, and I help to choose next year's students.

Q: Do they look up to you as an unreachable star?
A: No, they don't really know yet what the Olympics are. To a first grader, a double-scoop ice cream cone means more than any championship.

Q: And what about you, can you really feel the importance of your successes with an adult perspective?
A: Oh sure. I've learned that much by now.

Q: Isn't it bad for you that you're interesting to other people just because you are an Olympic champion?
A: That's a part of being famous. Some friends know me better than that, though. There are people who think of me as an Olympic champion, and others who think of me as Henrietta, and there are similarities and differences between these people. It's their decision how they think of me.

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