I wasn't allowed to leave Romania. That made me mad. You just want your freedom. You want your space. You want opportunity.

One of the most difficult times in my life was when I escaped from Romania in November of 1989.

We only had white socks in Romania. But when I used to come back from the States, I used to bring back pink and yellow socks with all kind of designs, and hair clips and elastic bands for the ponytail that had colourful designs.

When you go out of your country and meet people, you get a wider perspective.

Of course, I grew up in Communist Romania, but I am happy to say that now our country is democratic, and prospering, since the revolution in 1989.

People always accused me of not smiling like my rival Olga Korbut, but that was just my personality. When you're balancing on a nine-inch beam, you have to concentrate. But if you look back at the footage, I was always smiling and waving at the crowd after my performances.