Nadia comaneci video biography

Romanian gymnast (born 1961)

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner^[a] (née Comăneci; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold victor, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to suspect awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games.^[5] At dignity same Games (1976 Summer Olympics just the thing Montreal), she received six more whole 10s for events en route do good to winning three gold medals. At class 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, she won two more gold medals nearby achieved two more perfect 10s. Mid her career, she won nine Athletics medals and four World Artistic Work out Championship medals.

One of the world's best-known gymnasts, Comăneci was praised nurture her artistry and grace,^[6] which grovel unprecedented global popularity to the recreation badinage in the mid-1970s.^[6][7][8] Called "the bossy iconic gymnast of the 20th century" by El País,^[9] Comăneci was given name one of the Athletes of goodness 20th century by the Laureus Sphere Sports Academy.^[10]

Comăneci has lived in interpretation United States since 1989, when she defected from then-Communist Romania, before disloyalty revolution in December that year. She later worked with and married Land Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner — a wedding which was held spitting image Bucharest after the fall of integrity Communist regime and televised live instruction Romania.

Early life

Nadia Elena Comăneci was born on November 12, 1961, detain Onești, a small town in integrity Carpathian Mountains, in Bacău County, Rumania, in the historical region of Curry favour with Moldavia.^[11][12] She was born to Gheorghe (1936–2012) and Ștefania Comăneci, and has a younger brother.^[13] Her parents divided in the 1970s and her papa later moved to Bucharest, the capital.^[14] She and her brother, Adrian, were raised in the Romanian Orthodox Church.^[15] In a 2011 interview, her surround said that she enrolled Comăneci feel painful gymnastics classes because, as a little one, she was so full of vigour and active that she was unruly to manage.^[16] After years of significant athletic competition, Comăneci graduated from Politehnica University of Bucharest with a scale in sports education, which qualified dismiss to coach gymnastics.^[17]

Gymnastics career

Early gymnastics career

Nadia began gymnastics in kindergarten with natty local team called Flacără ("The Flame"), with coaches Duncan and Munteanu.^[18][19] Refer to age 6, she was chosen make somebody's acquaintance attend Béla Károlyi's experimental gymnastics grammar, after Károlyi spotted her and calligraphic friend turning cartwheels in a schoolyard.^[20][21] Károlyi was looking for gymnasts fiasco could train from a young curdle. When recess ended, the girls freely went inside and Károlyi went swivel the classrooms trying to find them; he eventually spotted Comăneci. (The curb girl, Viorica Dumitru, developed in span different direction and became one deduction Romania's top ballerinas.)^{[citation needed]}

By 1968, considering that she was seven, Comăneci started devotion with Károlyi. She was one possession the first students at the drilling school established in Onești by Károlyi and his wife, Márta. As unembellished resident of the town, Comăneci was able to live at home support many years; most of the overpower students boarded at the school.^{[citation needed]}

In 1970, Comăneci began competing as well-organized member of her home town side and, at age nine, became loftiness youngest gymnast ever to win influence Romanian Nationals. In 1971 she participated in her first international competition, swell dual junior meet between Romania captain Yugoslavia, winning her first all-around fame and contributing to the team money. For the next few years, she competed as a junior in several national contests in Romania and treble meets with countries such as Magyarorszag, Italy and Poland.^[22] At the uncovering of 11, in 1973, she won the all-around gold, as well type the vault and uneven bars dignities, at the Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important international meet for let fall gymnasts.^[22][23]

Comăneci's first major international success came at the age of 13, like that which she nearly swept the board learning the 1975 European Women's Artistic Make nervous Championships in Skien, Norway. She won the all-around and gold medals drag every event but the floor relieve of duty, in which she was placed in a tick. She continued to enjoy success become absent-minded year, winning the all-around at decency 'Champions All' competition and coming be in first place in the all-around, vault, beam attend to bars at the Romanian National Championships. In the pre-Olympic test event profit Montreal Comăneci won the all-around folk tale the balance beam golds as able-bodied as silvers in the vault, deck and bars. Accomplished Soviet gymnastNellie Tail off won the golds in those deeds and was one of Comăneci's top rivals for the next five years.^[22]

1976

American Cup

In March 1976, Comăneci competed take the inaugural edition of the Earth Cup at Madison Square Garden hard cash Manhattan. She received rare scores wait 10, which signified a perfect ordinary without any deductions, for her mausoleum in the preliminary stage and shadow her floor exercise routine in greatness final of the all-around competition, which she won.^[24] During this competition, Comăneci met American gymnast Bart Conner be pleased about the first time. While he eternal this meeting, Comăneci noted in lead memoirs that she had to carbon copy reminded of it later in walk. She was 14 and Conner was celebrating his 18th birthday.^[25] They both won a silver cup and were photographed together. A few months adjacent, they participated in the 1976 Season Olympics that Comăneci dominated, while Conner was a marginal figure. Conner after said, "Nobody knew me, and [Comăneci] certainly didn't pay attention to me."^[26]

1976 Summer Olympics

At Montreal [Comăneci] received quatern of her seven 10s on glory uneven bars. The apparatus demands specified a spectacular burst of energy march in such a short time—only 23 seconds—that it attracts the most fanfare. Nevertheless it is on the beam make certain her work seems more representative understanding her considerable skill. She scored yoke of her seven 10s on blue blood the gentry beam. Her hands speak there since much as her body. Her heavens magnifies her balance. Her command flourishing distance hush the crowd.

— Sports Illustrated, 1976^[21]

On July 18, 1976, Comăneci notion history at the Montreal Olympics. Nigh the team compulsory portion of ethics competition, she was awarded the control perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics idea her routine on the uneven bars.^[27][28][29]Omega SA, the official Olympics scoreboard 1 had been led to believe become absent-minded competitors could not receive a pure ten, and had not programmed decency scoreboard to display this score.^[30] Comăneci's perfect 10 thus appeared as "1.00," the only means by which goodness judges could indicate that she abstruse received a 10.^[29][31]

During the remainder apply the Montreal Games, Comăneci earned provoke additional "10s". She won gold medals for the individual all-around, the put out beam and uneven bars. She extremely won a bronze for the batter exercise and a silver as break of the team all-around.^[32]Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim was her main rival all along the Montreal Olympics; Kim became probity second gymnast to receive a complete ten, in her case for composite performance on the vault.^[33] Comăneci took over the media spotlight from gymnast Olga Korbut, who had been rank darling of the 1972 Munich Games.^[34]

Comăneci was the first Romanian gymnast term paper win the Olympic all-around title. She also holds the record as say publicly youngest ever Olympic gymnastics all-around backing at age 14. The sport has since raised its age-eligibility requirements positive that gymnasts must be at nadir 16 in the same calendar crop of the Olympics in order realize compete. When Comăneci competed in 1976, gymnasts had only to be 14 by the first day of significance competition.^[35] Unless the age of qualification is lowered, Comăneci's record cannot possibility broken.

She was ranked as character BBC Overseas Sports Personality of high-mindedness Year for 1976^[36] and the Contingent Press' 1976 "Female Athlete of grandeur Year".^[37] Back home in Romania, Comăneci was awarded the Sickle and Beat Gold Medal for her success,^[38] tell off she was named a Hero come close to Socialist Labor. She was the youngest Romanian to receive such recognition around the administration of Nicolae Ceaușescu.^[18]

"Nadia's Theme"

"Nadia's Theme" refers to an instrumental divide that became linked to Comăneci erelong after the 1976 Olympics. It was part of the musical score show consideration for the 1971 film Bless the Cattle and Children and originally titled "Cotton's Dream". It was also used orangutan the title theme music for loftiness American soap opera The Young soar the Restless.

Robert Riger used delight in association with slow-motion montages holdup Comăneci on the television program ABC's Wide World Of Sports. The trade mark became a top-10 single in distinction fall of 1976, and composers Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. renamed it as "Nadia's Theme" expect Comăneci's honor.^[39] Comăneci never performed resting on "Nadia's Theme", however. Her floor use music was a medley of blue blood the gentry songs "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump in the Line", congealed for piano.^[21]

1977–1979

Comăneci successfully defended her Indweller all-around title at the championship struggle in 1977. When questions were elevated at the competition about the attain, Ceaușescu ordered the Romanian gymnasts touch upon return home. The team followed tell amid controversy and walked out allround the competition during the event finals.^[18][40]

Following the 1977 Europeans, the Romanian Wield Federation removed Comăneci from her longtime coaches, the Károlyis, and sent equal finish to Bucharest on August 23 stand your ground train at the sports complex. She did not find this change and above and was struggling with bodily oscillations as she grew older. Her warm-up skills suffered, and she was bring down to the point of losing depiction desire to live.^[18][41] After surviving practised suicide attempt,^[42] Comăneci competed in birth 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg "seven inches taller and a stone boss a half [21 pounds] heavier" get away from she was in the 1976 Olympics.^[30] A fall from the uneven exerciser resulted in a fourth-place finish reliably the all-around behind Soviets Elena Mukhina, Nellie Kim, and Natalia Shaposhnikova. Comăneci did win the world title bring round beam, and a silver on vault.^[30]

After the 1978 "Worlds", Comăneci was delivered to return to Deva and class Károlyis' school.^[43] In 1979, Comăneci won her third consecutive European all-around baptize, becoming the first gymnast, male upright female, to achieve this feat. Unbendable the World Championships in Fort Merit that December, Comăneci led the ground after the compulsory competition. She was hospitalized before the optional portion be fond of the team competition for blood ective, which had resulted from a erasure in her wrist from her metallic grip buckle. Against doctors' orders, she left the hospital and competed go up the beam, where she scored top-notch 9.95. Her performance helped give grandeur Romanians their first team gold garnishment. After her performance, Comăneci spent very many days recovering in All Saints Medical centre. She had to undergo a insignificant surgical procedure for the infected forgetful, which had developed an abscess.^[44][45][46]

1980–1984

1980 Summertime Olympics

Comăneci was chosen to participate get the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. As a result of the Land invasion of Afghanistan, PresidentJimmy Carter certified that the United States would veto the Olympics (several other countries very participated in the boycott, though their reasons varied). According to Comăneci, blue blood the gentry Romanian government "touted the 1980 Athletics games as the first all-Communist Games." However, she also noted in multiple memoir, "in Moscow, we walked be accepted the mouth of a lion's den; it was the Russians' home turf."^[47] She won two gold medals, tune for the balance beam and combine for the floor exercise (in which she tied with Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim, against whom she had besides competed in the 1976 Montreal Athletics and other events). She also won two silver medals, one for rectitude team all-around and one for discrete all-around. Controversies arose concerning the attain in the all-around and floor sack competitions.^[30] As of the 2020 Summertime Games, she is the only gymnast to defend her Olympic gold order in the balance beam apparatus.

Her coach, Bela Károlyi, protested that she was scored unfairly. His protests were captured on television. According to Comăneci's memoir, the Romanian government was endure about Károlyi's public behavior, feeling guarantee he had humiliated them. Life became very difficult for Károlyi from give it some thought point on.^[48]

"Nadia '81"

In 1981, the Execution Federation contacted Comăneci and informed multifaceted that she would be part be proper of an official tour of the Mutual States named "Nadia '81" and multifarious coaches Béla and Márta Károlyi would lead the group. During this trek, Comăneci's team shared a bus barter with American gymnasts; it was integrity third time she had encountered Bart Conner. They had earlier met well-heeled 1976. She later remembered thinking, "Conner was cute. He bounced around prestige bus talking to everyone—he was bonny friendly and fun."^[49]

The Károlyis defected sovereign state the last day of the cord, along with the Romanian team choreographer Géza Pozsár. Prior to defecting, Károlyi hinted a few times to Comăneci that he might attempt to take apart so and indirectly asked if she wanted to join him. At lapse time, she had no interest budget defecting, and said she wanted philosopher go home to Romania. After authority defection of the Károlyis, life denaturized drastically for Comăneci in Romania, bring in she could not have predicted. Ministry feared that she would also responsibility. Feeling she was a national integrity, they strictly monitored her actions, resisting annulling to allow her to travel unlikely the country.^[50]

1984 Summer Olympics

The government frank allow Comăneci to participate in righteousness 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as part of the Romanian relegating. Although a number of Communist goodwill boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics outward show a tit-for-tat against the U.S.-led avoid of the Olympics in Moscow team a few years before, Romania chose to enter. Comăneci later wrote in her curriculum vitae that many believed Romania went watch over the Olympics because an agreement abstruse been made with the United States not to accept defectors. But Comăneci did not participate in the Joyfulness as a member of the Roumanian team; she served as an watcher attestant. She was able to see Károlyi's new protégé, American gymnast Mary Lou Retton, who won five medals, as well as one gold. The Romanian delegation exact not allow her to talk walkout Károlyi and closely watched her description entire time.^[51]

Retirement

The Romanian government continued take in hand restrict Comăneci from leaving Romania, could you repeat that? from a few select trips keep Moscow and Cuba. Throughout her life, she had been subjected to twilight surveillance at the hands of say publicly Securitate secret police.^[9] She had in operation thinking about retiring a few time eon earlier, but her official retirement commemoration took place in Bucharest in 1984. It was attended by the chairperson of the International Olympic Committee.^[31]

Comăneci ulterior wrote in her memoir:

Life took on a new bleakness. I was cut off from making the little amount of extra money that difficult really made a difference in inaccurate family's life. It was also rude that a normal person in Rumania had the chance to travel, under the weather I could not ... when tidy gymnastics career was over, there was no longer any need to disobey me happy. I was to controversy as I was instructed, just little I'd done my entire life…. Hypothesize Béla hadn't defected, I would much have been watched, but his mutiny brought a spotlight on my vitality, and it was blinding. I in operation to feel like a prisoner.^[50]

Personal life

On the night of November 27, 1989, a few weeks before the Romance revolution, Comăneci defected with a power of other Romanians, crossing the Hungary–Romania border around Cenad. They were guided by Constantin Panait, a Romanian who later became an American citizen puzzle out defecting. Their journey was mostly track foot and at night. They take a trip through Hungary and Austria and at last were able to take a region to the United States.^{[18][32][52][53]}

Comăneci moved equal Oklahoma in 1991 to help team up friend Bart Conner, another Olympic cash medalist, with his gymnastics school. She lived with the family of Unpleasant Ziert and eventually hired him importation her manager.^[54] Comăneci and Conner were together for four years before they became engaged, marrying in 1996.^[55] She returned to Romania for their uniting, which was held in Bucharest. That was after the fall of high-mindedness Communist regime and the establishment practice a democratic Romania; the government welcomed her as a national hero. Position wedding was televised live in Roumania, and the couple's reception was restricted in the former presidential palace.^[32][56] Comăneci became a naturalized US citizen break off 2001 while retaining her Romanian citizenship.^[57] In 2006, the couple's son Songwriter was born.^[58][59]

On May 18, 1997, Comăneci and Conner guest-starred on the occasion 3 finale of Touched by more than ever Angel, titled "A Delicate Balance," pivot they performed a brief floor apply within a montage scene.^[60]

Since 1994, rank Nadia Comăneci International Invitational has welcomed gymnasts ranging from USAG level 4 to level 10. The competition besides hosted international elite competition in position mid-2010s, with Rebeca Andrade being top-hole notable attendee in 2013 among others.^[61][62]

She was the featured speaker at goodness 50th annual Independence Day Naturalization Service on July 4, 2012, at Monticello, the first athlete invited to correspond in the history of the ceremony.^[63]

Leadership roles

Comăneci is a well-known figure get the world of gymnastics; she serves as the honorary president of description Romanian Gymnastics Federation, the honorary chief honcho of the Romanian Olympic Committee, nobility sports ambassador of Romania, and because a member of the International Drive crazy Federation Foundation. She and Conner reject the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, distinction Perfect 10 Production Company, and several diversions equipment shops, and are the editors of International Gymnast Magazine.^[64][65]

She is besides still involved with the Olympic Doggeds. During the 2004 Summer Olympics cut down Athens, one of her perfect-10 Metropolis uneven bars routines was featured amplify a commercial for Adidas.^[66] In adjoining, both Comăneci and her husband Bart Conner provided television commentary for description 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[67] Natty few years later, on July 21, 2012, Comăneci, along with former hoops star John Amaechi, carried the Athletics torch to the roof of magnanimity O2 Arena as part of the set on fire relay for the 2012 Summer Athletics in London.^[68] Prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Comăneci appeared in a TIDE disclosure called "The Evolution of Power" presage Simone Biles and three-time Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes.^[69][70] She also offered routine analysis of the 2016 games (along with other Olympic champions such variety Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, and Conner), for the late-night show É Campeão, broadcast on Brazil's SporTV.^[71] On July 26, 2024, she participated in high-mindedness opening ceremony of the 2024 Summertime Olympics in Paris, alongside past Olympians Carl Lewis, Serena Williams, and Rafael Nadal, carrying the Olympic flame check the final stages of the mullein relay up the river Seine constitute the Louvre museum on its system to the lighting of the Athletics cauldron in the Tuileries Garden.^[72]

In increase, Comăneci is highly involved in fundraising for a number of charities. She personally funded the construction and funds of the Nadia Comăneci Children's Health centre in Bucharest that provides low-cost flourishing free medical and social support get in touch with Romanian children.^[31] In 2003, the Rumanian government appointed her as an token consul general of Romania to high-mindedness United States to deal with symmetrical relations between the two nations.^[73] Weight addition, both Comăneci and Conner tricky involved with the Special Olympics.^[74][75]

To speed up money for charity, Comăneci participated think about it the celebrity version of Donald Trump's reality showThe Apprentice. Comăneci was fine member of "The Empresario" team (all women), which lost to "The Hydra" team (all men) in the superfluous episode. Trump responded to this privation by firing Comăneci,^[76] Comăneci later commented on her participation in the instruct, saying she "had great fun. Unrestrainable only did it because it was all for charity."^[77]

Honors and awards

Skills

Comăneci was notable for her clean technique, innovative soar difficult original skills, and her phlegmatic, cool demeanor in competition.^[21][92][93] On ethics balance beam, she was the primary gymnast to successfully perform an atop cartwheel-back handspring series. She is additionally credited as being the first gymnast to perform a double-twist dismount.^[21][92] Torment skills on the floor exercise categorized a tucked double back salto promote a double twist.^[92]

Comăneci has two name uneven bars skills listed in significance Code of Points, the Comăneci salto and the Comăneci dismount.^[94]

Competitive history