Nadia Comăneci became a household name all across the world when she did the unthinkable at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976. She broke more than just a single world record during the competition. But getting to the Olympics, and then out of Romania was no walk in the park. Here is her story.
The Early Days
Nadia Elena Comăneci was born on November 12th, 1961 in Onești, Romania. Her parents Gheorghe and Ștefania Comăneci, a Romanian Orthodox couple, were thrilled to have their first child. Later they would have a son too.
The Early Days
Hope For Nadia
Nadia’s name was actually inspired by a movie that her parents saw when Nadia’s mother was pregnant. The main character’s name in the movie was “Nadya”, which means “hope”. This would become a very fitting name for the star of our story.
Hope For Nadia
Full Of Life
Young Nadia was a very energetic child, jumping all over her house. Her parents decided that they should find a positive outlet for her vitality which brought them to gymnastics, a decision that would change all of their lives forever.
Full Of Life
Going Forward
“I was driven towards something I wanted to be the best at, and I didn’t know exactly what it was, it happened to be gymnastics.” She was a girl who wanted to do something, to achieve something and to achieve greatness.
Going Forward
Young Talent
During recess at her kindergarten, six-year-old Nadia and a friend were performing cartwheels in the yard when they were noticed by a married couple who were scouting for talented youth. This couple was Márta and Béla Károlyi – local gymnastics coaches. They pursued both Nadia and her friend classroom by classroom in hopes of recruiting them for their school.
Young Talent
Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi was always a sports fanatic. First he was a hammer-throwing champion and then a junior boxing coach. He became involved in gymnastics with his wife, Márta Károlyi and together they became the couple who would pursue young talent like Nadia.
Béla Károlyi
Hard Work
Béla succeeded in recruiting Nadia and started training the young girl for 3 hours each day. Márta and Béla were blown away by Nadia’s form as well as by her motivation to succeed. No matter how many times she failed, she got back up and tried again.
Hard Work
Ups And Downs
Their rigid training regiment took Nadia Comăneci to the Romanian National Junior Championship when she was just 8 years old. She came in 13th place and felt disappointed. However, she didn’t lose hope and under the wing of her beloved coach, the following year she participated again and came in first place.
Ups And Downs
Practice Makes Perfect
Béla Károlyi believed that practice made perfect and it made him happy to know that Nadia felt the same way. At only 13 years old, Nadia was training with Béla 8 hours a day and 6 days a week. They had their sights on greatness, and they were going to achieve it.
Practice Makes Perfect
Never Too Much
Many years later, Nadia was asked whether she felt that the Károlyi couple had over-trained her during her young years. What she answered was quite the opposite. When Béla instructed Nadia to perform any exercises, it was Nadia who insisted on doing more than she was told to. She was determined to be the best of the best.
Never Too Much
Gold and Silver
Europe met the budding star during the 1975 European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Skien, Norway. Nadia took home a gold medal for all of her performances but one, for which she received a silver. She was only 13 years old and already spectators realized the potential she held.
Gold And Silver
The American Cup
It was the first time that Nadia Comăneci flew across the world. She competed in the American Cup in 1976 which would serve as a warm-up for the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. She took the gymnastics arena by storm and scored perfect results.
The American Cup
Two Winners
What followed her display of excellence, was a reward-receiving ceremony. Two silver cups were given to two gymnasts – a male and a female. Nadia Comăneci got hers, while Bart Conner from USA got his. Their first meeting would become a life-changing event.
Two Winners
Young Love
Photographers gathered around to capture the two athletes together. “Kiss for the cameras, please!” shouted one journalist. Bart Conner, who was freshly 18 years old wasted no time and planted a soft kiss on 14 year-old Nadia’s cheek. The two looked quite cute together, and instantly Nadia became special in the hearts of Americans.
Young Love
Summer Olympics
Four months after the American Cup, Nadia made history in Montreal. The judges stared in amazement as Nadia dominated the arena at the 1976 Olympic Games. Her faultless performances brought about new world records. She received a perfect 10 score! She didn’t stop there, she took another 6 of them as the games continued. Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast in history to achieve this feat at the Olympics.
Summer Olympics
Confusion In The Crowd
Omega SA, the makers of the digital scoreboards for the Olympics, didn’t believe it was possible to achieve such a score and therefore hadn’t programmed the scoreboard to display a “10”. What did pop up was a mere “1.00”. It took a few moments before Nadia, her coach and the entire crowd realized what the score really meant to display.
Confusion In The Crowd
Writing History
It took years for curious fans to actually find out how Nadia felt at the moment she realized her perfect score. “I didn’t know I was making history when I got the 10.” She said that during her performances she preferred not to look at the scoreboards.
Writing History
The Perfect “10”
Her coach, Béla Károlyi was very angry at first. He recalls the moment he read the scoreboard, “I said ‘holy cow, they deducted something over here, there is a deduction, there is a penalty,’ I was on my way to the jury, then I heard, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, first time in the history of the sport, a perfect 10 in the Olympic Games.’”
The Perfect “10”
For Now And Always
Nadia Comaneci became the youngest person to ever break such a record for gymnastics at the Olympic Games. Her record for being the youngest person to do so will stand forever and ever. The reason for this is that the Olympic Committee soon after decided that the minimum age of participants is 16.
For Now And Always
Humble Nadia
Following her perfect scores and the award sessions that came after them, an official asked Nadia how she felt about her scores. More than a billion people around the world watched as 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci replied, “It’s okay. I’ve gotten 19 golds in other competitions.” The world fell in love with her.
Humble Nadia
In With The New
For four years, Olga Korbut from the former Soviet Union was known as the “darling” of the games after she performed with minimum fault at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. But it would be at the next competition when she would have to put her pride behind her. There was a new girl on the block.
In With The New
A New Hero
As a young teenager, Nadia had never experienced such a great achievement like this before in her life. She stepped off the plane in Bucharest and there were over 1,000 people with signs cheering for her. She was so overwhelmed with the massive reception, that she actually ran back to the airplane!
A New Hero
National Pride
Arriving back in Romania, she was welcomed like a hero. No other Romanian athlete had done what Nadia Comăneci did. Romanian president, Nicolae Ceaușescu’s administration awarded her with the “Sickle and Hammer Gold Medal” and they called her a hero of “Socialist Labor”. Rumors even spread that the government gave her a family a car and a full month of vacation.
National Pride
Dedications To Nadia Comăneci
Cinematographer Robert Riger compiled a video montage of Nadia Comăneci in 1976 that showed her performing with a 1971 hit song. The song, “Cotton’s Dream” by composers Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr. suddenly became synonymous with Nadia and even reached the top-10 hit list in 1976. The composers decided to give the song a new name – “Nadia’s Theme”.
Dedications To Nadia Comăneci
Athlete Of The Year
Dedication songs were just the start. Newsweek Magazine printed a full color picture of her image and a caption that read, “A Star Is Born”. BBC gave her the title of, “Overseas Sports Personality of the Year” and the Associated Press called her, “Female Athlete of the Year”. The world was buzzing with the words, “Nadia Comăneci”.
Athlete Of The Year
No Space
Time Magazine took Nadia as their cover, even though a space mission to Mars was already a hot topic worldwide. Instead the space mission was granted just a small corner on the cover while Nadia Comăneci dominated the full page.
No Space
New Moves
Nadia not only mastered the moves of others at the competition, but she even created her own new moves. Her perfect moves were dubbed the “Comăneci salto” and the “Comăneci dismount”. She was not only a master, she was a creator, too!
New Moves
Turbulent Times
Things seemed to be going really well for young Nadia. Her career was peaking and her popularity growing, but then she was blind-sided. Her parents decided that they would get divorced. Nadia and her younger brother were thrown into a difficult position.
Turbulent Times
Losing Béla
The bad news didn’t stop with her parents’ divorce. Romanian sporting officials decided that her coach, Béla Károlyi, needed to abandon Nadia and coach elsewhere. Seeing as he was the coach whom she had trained with since she was 6 years old, she felt heart-broken and the result of this feeling would lead her down a dangerous path.
Losing Béla
Stress Overload
At only 15 years old, Nadia couldn’t handle the stress of all the drastic changes around her, and she lost her motivation to train at the gym. At this time, she wound up in hospital due to the high levels of stress that she wasn’t equipped to deal with.
Stress Overload
Keeping To Herself
Some gymnasts and even commentators said that Nadia was “an emotionless gymnast”. The claims were very far from the truth, however. Nadia was feeling very emotional, but she kept it inside. Her coach, Béla Károlyi said that “she kept everything inside.” The problem was that she was too young to deal with all the pressure that was being piled on top of her.
Keeping To Herself
Time To Restart
Romanian officials started to realize the effects of Béla’s absence and the effect it would have on Nadia’s health and her progress. They immediately returned Béla to coach young Nadia again. The reunion was very close to the Olympics that would be held in Moscow, but they were all happy to be together again.
Time To Restart
Hands On
During the World Championships in 1979, Nadia was sent to hospital after she cut her wrist on a metal grip buckle. The doctors who treated her, advised her not to return to the games but she defied them and went back to win the first gold medal for her team.
Hands On
Moscow Summer Olympics
Even though Nadia and Béla didn’t have much time, they trained for 5 intensive weeks to prepare her for the competition. Being in Russia posed some issues for other competing countries. For example, The United States didn’t send a team in order to protest the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan. But the Russians had other worries on their minds – namely, Nadia Comăneci.
Moscow Summer Olympics
Hecklers In The Crowd
The world refocused their eyes on Nadia Comăneci once again. She was focused and determined, so much so that she didn’t even notice the hecklers in the crowd. Drunk Russian soldiers shouted out from the stands, “Fall, Nadia! Fall!” And although she hadn’t trained nearly enough before Moscow, she took home 4 medals; two golds and two silvers.
Hecklers In The Crowd
Unfair Scoring
Nadia once again stunned the crowd with a faultless performance, but then controversy struck. Her coach, Bela Károlyi, noticed the judges taking a very long time with presenting Nadia’s score, only to reveal a score that he didn’t see fit. He created a great fuss that was televised worldwide. Claims were that his protest embarrassed his country and Bela started to worry that his life would be in danger when he returned home.
Unfair Scoring
Mutual Respect
Even with the Moscow fiasco fresh in the air, Nadia got herself a gold, and respect from her competitors. In particular, Nellie Kim from the USSR kissed and congratulated Nadia on the podium. Kim dispelled rumors about Nadia’s lack of emotion and defended her by saying, “She was psychologically prepared, not emotionless.”
Mutual Respect
Escaping The Grip
In 1981, the Gymnastics Federation created a tour across America called, “Nadia 81′”. The tour spread across 11 cities and showed off Nadia to the Americans. It was at this time that her coach found his opportunity to find safety – he defected to the United States. Nadia felt abandoned once again and it weighed heavily on her.
Escaping The Grip
No Way Out
The Romanian government became concerned that Nadia would try to escape and defect to America too, and therefore set up a travel ban. Her phone calls were all monitored and her letters were all checked. The only exception to the ban was to fly to Cuba and two other competitions in Europe.
No Way Out
Throwing In The Towel
In 1984, Nadia decided that her time as a gymnast had come to a close. She didn’t leave the sport though; she became Romania’s national gymnastics coach. This new position meant that she would still travel around the world for different competitions.
Throwing In The Towel
The New Girl
The same year, Nadia flew with her team to represent Romania at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. There was a shocking surprise for Nadia when she saw who was coaching the American team – it was her former coach, Béla Károlyi. If that wasn’t enough for her to see, she noticed that Béla had a very talented new gymnast by the name of Mary Lou Retton.
The New Girl
Mary Lou Retton
So, who was this new girl? Mary Lou Retton was born on 24 January, 1984 and she was passionate about gymnastics. Ironically, Nadia was the one who she claims piqued her interest in the sport, especially after putting on an impressive performance at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Soon, Retton was being trained by Márta and Béla Károlyi, Nadia’s former coaches.
Mary Lou Retton
New Success
Of course it was no surprise that Retton would achieve greatness under the watchful eyes of the Károlyis. At the 1984 Olympics, Mary Lou Retton successfully became the first woman outside of Eastern Europe to win the individual all-around gold. She did so by overtaking Romania’s star gymnast, Ecaterina Szabo.
New Success
Keeping Distance
Even though Nadia didn’t hold a grudge against Béla, her former coach, she felt a pang of hurt. And to make matters worse, Romania’s strict government forbade Nadia from interacting with Béla whatsoever. She knew that she had to do something and get out of Romania.
Keeping Distance
Hope On The Horizon
While attending a party in 1987, Nadia met an interesting man who claimed to have escaped from Romania to USA and had acquired US citizenship. This man was Constantin Panait and he would influence Nadia’s life for both better and worse.
Hope On The Horizon
The Only Chance
Nadia had faith in Panait because he produced his American citizenship. He explained how he could help her escape from Romania through Hungary and Austria. Even though it was risky, Nadia wanted to get out of Romania. In 1989 they managed to escape all the way to USA, even flying through Canada first. Ironically, the “Romanian Revolution” took place just weeks later.
The Only Chance
Goodbyes
When she realized that she had to tell her family about her plan to escape, she was torn. She worried that her mother would have a heart attack. Her brother reassured her, and told her that it was a decision she needed to go through with.
Goodbyes
A Close Call
Their risky journey was not easy. At one point they were almost captured when they reached the Hungarian border and a group of patrolmen saw them. They immediately recognized Nadia and let her go without a hiccup. It was a situation that could have taken a very different turn.
A Close Call
A Mixed Reception
When they did eventually make it to America, her arrival was no surprise. Journalists swarmed the Olympic star and questioned her about her plans, to which she answered through a great smile and with broken English. Some Americans had heard negative rumors and weren’t sure how to feel about her, but the majority were excited to have her in their country.
A Mixed Reception
Held Back
When news reached Béla Károlyi that Nadia was in America, he immediately tried to contact her. He wasn’t the only one trying to reach her, but all who tried, failed. No-one could understand why Nadia wasn’t returning their calls. The truth is that Constantin Panait wasn’t passing on any of her messages – Nadia was completely oblivious of them.
Held Back
Life Of Mystery
With a weak command of the English language, Nadia felt safer with Constantin Panait. Although he was married, she often stayed with him at motels and roadhouses. The press managed to question Nadia about their relationship, to which she answered, “It’s a secret” with her tongue stuck out. Something was strange.
Life Of Mystery
A Friend In Need
While visiting Canada, Alexandru Stefu, a close friend of Nadia asked her about the strange relationship with Panait. Nadia confessed that Panait was holding her against her will. When Stefu confronted Panait, he took off and left the country, and even took a large amount of Nadia’s money. To this day however, Nadia is grateful to Panait for her passage to America.
A Friend In Need
Bart Conner Returns
Before Stefu confronted Constantin Panait, Nadia attended the Pat Sajak Show. When Bart Conner heard that she would be on the show, he flew in and even took a helicopter to get to the studio. He wanted to surprise her, and he even felt quite excited to see her again.
Bart Conner
Meeting Nadia Comăneci
For Bart, surprising Nadia was a major moment. They had once before at the American Cup in 1976 – the venue where Bart bravely planted a kiss on Nadia’s cheek while they both proudly held their silver cups up for the cameras.
Meeting Nadia Comăneci
By All Means
Bart Conner’s flight landed at 4:45pm, and the show was set to start at 5:00pm – luckily he had organized a helicopter to get him there. He wanted his surprise appearance to be one worth remembering.
By All Means
Reunited Again
His entrance was shared with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Bart Conner approached Nadia Comăneci and once again kissed her cheek, and then added a second kiss to her other cheek. The audience cheered at the sight of their reunion. It had been quite some time since their iconic kiss.
Reunited Again
Friend Zone
Nadia thought that Bart was just a nice guy. She even recalls during the 1976 Olympic Games, Bart “bouncing” around from person to person on the bus and chatting to them. She had no idea that Bart had a little crush growing inside his heart.
Friend Zone
More than A Date
After a number of meetings that Bart might have called dates, they realized that they were more than friends. They then dated for 4 years and Bart eventually got down on one knee and popped the question.
More Than A Date
Wedding Day
To celebrate their wedding, they flew across the Atlantic Ocean to be married back in Romania. Nadia wasn’t sure how the population would receive her, especially after having defected to the U.S. It really surprised her when 10,000 people came to greet her.
Wedding Day
The Whole Nation
They were married in 1996, and the day was marked as a national holiday and their wedding was televised across the country. Many people even referred to their wedding as “the royal wedding of sport” due its great exposure.
The Whole Nation
Little Bart
In 2006, Bart and Nadia celebrated the birth of their son, Dylan Paul. The couple was eventually building a family in America. Isabelle Kumar asked Nadia in an interview if she felt more American or Romanian, to which she answered, “I am a Romanian, but I am adopted by America.”
Little Bart
A Secret Wonder
It didn’t take long for young Dylan to learn who his parents were. One day when he came back from school, he innocently asked his mom, “Do you know that you’re famous?” Nadia giggled and replied, “yes” and showed him pictures of her and Bart.
A Secret Wonder
Young And Old
Nadia was overwhelmed with happiness in 2016 and she took to Twitter to show it. She posted a picture of Dylan, who was 10 years old at the time, with Martha Károlyi who is the wife of Béla Károlyi. They were the couple who brought Nadia to where she is today. She said that she felt like their meeting brought her “full circle”.
Young And Old
Coming Together
Years after the Olympic Games where all three of them met, Mary Lou Retton, Béla Károlyi and Nadia Comaneci all met. Retton uploaded this beautiful picture to social media with a loving caption, “Two of my heroes!” Fans knew for sure that everything was just fine between them all.
Coming Together
Nadia Comăneci And Caitlyn Jenner
Both Nadia and Caitlyn Jenner took part in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, but the two gold medalists didn’t have the chance to meet there. Jenner said, “Gymnastics finished before Track and Field started, so I was already gone by the time she competed.” 2016 was the first time that they met and they clicked immediately.
Nadia Comăneci And Caitlyn Jenner
Nadia Comăneci And Arnold Schwarzenegger
A surprise encounter occurred at Nadia’s local gym when former California governor saw her across the room. He approached her and asked her for some training tips and later posted their picture with the caption: “It is fantastic to get to the gym early and have an Olympic champion as your trainer – thanks Nadia Comaneci! 10 reps to honor the first perfect 10 score in the Olympics.”
Nadia Comăneci And Arnold Schwarzenegger
Commentators
Years after their days as gymnasts and Olympic coaches, Bart and Nadia found a great way to stay in the game. During the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008, they spent time together commentating on the gymnastics of the event.
Commentators
Judging Themselves
Once the Olympic Committee noticed how great they operated together, they thought of a novel idea and then executed it. After setting up a studio with a big screen, headsets and cameras, the two were shown videos of their OWN performances at the Olympic Games. Together they commentated on their respective performances.
Judging Themselves
Running With Fire
This Olympic couple had the honor of running the Olympic torch during the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Torch Relay in Oklahoma. Clearly you can see their glee as they shared this special moment together.
Running With Fire
The Olympic Torch
Nadia had the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch once again ten years later in London. This time she had the chance to do so with former basketball star, John Amaechi.
The Olympic Torch
Keeping Flexible
Seeing as Nadia is still in excellent shape, many people want to know what her secret. Well besides for the fact that she eats a very healthy diet, she works out regularly and puts a great focus on stretching.
Keeping Flexible
Ten For Ten
Nadia Comaneci is worth a lot more than money can stand for, but if we’re talking about her net worth then let’s have it. It is said that her net worth is about $10 million! But we all know that if we’re talking about her worth, we can’t put a number on it.
Ten For Ten
The Girl Next Door
Back in Nadia’s hometown, where she started out as a junior gymnast, there is a building that is dedicated to her. The “Memorial Nadia Comaneci Montreal” stands to honor Nadia and the jaw-dropping performance she pulled off all those years ago.
The Girl Next Door
Letters To A Young Gymnast
What would Nadia’s story be if it had never been written into a book? “Letters To A Young Gymnast” is a biography of Nadia Comaneci, and it speaks of more than just the days she lived.
Letters To A Young Gymnast
Nadia Comăneci And Katie Holmes
Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t Nadia’s only Hollywood “collaboration”. Hollywood actress Katie Holmes, wanted to document the incredible story that was Nadia’s life and she did so by creating a movie called, “Eternal Princess”.
Nadia Comăneci And Katie Holmes
A Lot In Common
The movie that Holmes directed was not only a tribute to Nadia’s life, but it was also a way of connecting to her on a personal level. They soon realized that they had quite a lot in common. Both women became stars at a young age and experienced quick fame and failure and the task of recovering while being in relationships with controlling partners.
A Lot In Common
Winning
Director Jacqueline Joseph collected a group of the greatest athletes across many sports and created a documentary called “Winning”. The 2016 work about troubles and triumphs included: Tennis star Martina Navratilova, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, track and field great Edwin Moses, Dutch Paralympian Esther Vergeer and Nadia Comaneci.
Winning
Visiting The White House
In 2014, Nadia and her husband, Bart enjoyed a warm welcome at the White House from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle. Since it was only a few months before the Special Olympics, their visit garnered a great amount of public attention.
Visiting The White House
The Special Olympics
Both Nadia and Bart wanted to get involved in the Special Olympics and did so by becoming ambassadors to the games. They travel around the world gathering financial and other support for the athletes and for the cause that it stands for.
The Special Olympics
Nadia Comăneci and Donald Trump
In order to raise money for the Special Olympics, Nadia appeared on the celebrity edition of The Apprentice with Donald Trump. Even though she didn’t manage to make it until the end, she had a great experience. She said, “I had great fun. I only did it because it was all for charity.”
With the Special Olympics in mind, Nadia took part in the celebrity edition of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. Even though she didn’t manage to raise the money she wished to for the Special Olympics, she had great things to say about her experience, “I had great fun. I only did it because it was all for charity.”
Nadia Comăneci And Donald Trump
Their Projects
The gold-medal couple don’t stop there. They are also volunteers for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, an organization that provides research and services for neuromuscular disease patients.
Their Projects
Nadia’s Clinic
Aside from the many projects she shares with her husband, she has also taken on a number of them alone. She opened the “Nadia Comăneci Children’s Clinic” in Bucharest. The clinic provides free or economical medical and social services to Romanian children.
Nadias Clinic
The Youth Is The Future
Nadia believes that sport is a positive outlet for children’s energy, as she learned for herself. She believes that it provides a “structure” which children need in order to learn discipline and to measure achievement.
The Youth Is The Future
Lifetime Achievements
Nadia’s influence didn’t end at the Olympic Games. In 1999, ABC News put Nadia on the list of the ‘100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century’. The International Association of Sports Writers listed her on the ‘25 Outstanding Sports People of the 20th Century’.
Lifetime Achievements
Fairytale Or Fate
During an interview, Nadia was asked if she felt like everything that happened in her life felt like a fairytale. Her answer was genuine, “I don’t want my life to be scripted, it becomes too cheesy. I brought motivation to my generation and the generation after me. You should never give up when it gets hard.”
Fairytale Or Fate
Connecting The Dots
The interviewer, Isabelle Kumar, went on to ask her what she would change about her life had she been able to. Nadia answered with an epic response. She said that it was because of all the hardships that she had faced that made her become the person she is today. She named it “connecting the dots”.
Connecting The Dots
Inspiring Young Lives
The life and love of gymnastics still lives within Nadia Comăneci. She has taken her passion to the floor once again through helping youths find their motivation and excellence in gymnastics. She has proven and continues to prove, that when we want to achieve greatness, we can. We learn from Nadia to never give up and to get up whenever we fall. The voices that tell us to the fall, are actually the voices that motivate us to get up again.
Inspiring Young Lives