Lilia Cosman and Team Romania Make the Most of Paris

25 Jul Lilia Cosman and Team Romania Make the Most of Paris

Posted at 12:46h in 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, News & Features, Paris 2024 by Megan Roth 0 Comments

Inside Gymnastics is on the scene in Paris for the XXXIII Olympiad bringing you all of the action from the Games! Make sure you’re following our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Threads) for all the latest and greatest in what promises to be the most epic and most-watched Olympic Games ever.

Dates: July 27 – August 5
Venue: Bercy Arena
TV channels: NBC, USA Network, E!
Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, NBC Olympics app

TV Broadcasts + Streaming Info

Primetime coverage featuring marquee events will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.
The complete gymnastics schedule, including the apparatus feeds for each session and TV listings, is also available on the NBC Olympics schedule page.
Live and tape-delayed coverage of gymnastics will be shown on the following TV channels: NBC, USA Network and E!

The Schedule

Gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics will air on NBC, USA Network and E!, and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms starting on Saturday, July 27.

Watch Live Here

Watch Replays and Extras Here

Look for our preview, stars and storylines throughout the Games on InsideGym.com

By Megan Roth

In 2022, when she was just 15, Lilia Cosman moved from the United States to Romania to begin her Elite gymnastics career. Now, she’s set to represent Romania in their first Olympics back as a team since 2012.

After Podium Training in Paris, Cosman talked to the media about her transition, what it means to represent Romania, what her plans are after the Olympics, and more!

Moving to Romania

Cosman was born in Michigan, but her parents are both Romanian and immigrated to the U.S. in 2001. She grew up competing in the USAG system up through Level 10, but never qualified Elite.

When she was younger, Cosman would visit Romania because her grandparents live there and one day, she trained where the National Team trains. She became connected to the National Team in 2022 when her mom reached out to the coach she trained with that day.

Since then, she’s been living and training in Romania. Her mom came with her the first month, but after that, she’s been by herself. She only goes home to the U.S. after big competitions – the last time she was home was in December.

The language adjustment was not too difficult for her. “It was a little shaky [speaking], but I understood [Romanian] really well,” Cosman said. “And the coaches speak some English, so if I don’t understand something, they’re really good at explaining it.” Now after living in Romania for two years, she likes to think she’s fluent.

The growth in her gymnastics since 2022 has been incredible. In 2022, Cosman had All-Around scores in the mid 46s at Elite qualifiers in the U.S. Now, she’s undoubtedly one of the top gymnasts in Romania with All-Around scores in the 52s. This year, she placed 8th in the All-Around and 4th on beam at Euros.

NCAA Future

She’s committed to Michigan State to compete in the NCAA once she graduates from high school in 2025, but she hopes to be able to compete for both Michigan State and Romania.

“In 2025 is when I’m supposed to start. And then maybe…” She trailed off. She was later asked if she’s planning to move back to Michigan in 2025 and responded, “yeah, I have to still think about that because I still like to do both if possible. So I’ll see what goes on.”

Artistry in Romania

The focus on artistry in Romania is one thing she thinks sets Team Romania apart from other teams.

“Our coaches make artistry very important, and we take some time from our practice and work on it a lot because in a lot of the world, you don’t see that. And you can see a difference between us and some other countries. And I think it really looks amazing.”

“We do facial expression things, like acting exercises. Then we’ll go and do a floor routine with different expressions. It’s just to play around. We’ll make a story for the floor routine, so then you express yourself better.”

Her floor routine this year is different from her past routines. “It’s all weird, funky, smiley,” she said. “At first, I wasn’t sure about it. I was a little nervous, but I like it now. I can smile and dance along.”

Paris 2024!

The Romanian team competing in Paris will be the same team that qualified Romania to the Olympics during the 2023 World Championships.

“It means a lot because after 12 years of not qualifying, to be on that team that helped qualify [to the Olympics], it really does mean a lot,” Cosman said. “I’m really glad that us girls were able to do that after so much time.”

Team Romania competes in subdivision 1 of Women’s Qualifications at 3:30 am ET/9:30 am Paris time on Saturday July 27th.