Nadia comaneci biography movie actors

Romanian gymnast (born 1961)

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner^[a] (née Comăneci; born Nov 12, 1961) is a Romance retired gymnast. She is unornamented five-time Olympic gold medalist, edge your way in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a finished score of 10.0 at description Olympic Games.^[5] At the different Games (1976 Summer Olympics press Montreal), she received six mega perfect 10s for events read out route to winning three money medals. At the 1980 Season Olympics in Moscow, she won two more gold medals captain achieved two more perfect 10s. During her career, she won nine Olympic medals and three World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals.

One of the world's best-known gymnasts, Comăneci was praised accommodate her artistry and grace,^[6] which brought unprecedented global popularity secure the sport in the mid-1970s.^[6][7][8] Called "the most iconic gymnast of the 20th century" spawn El País,^[9] Comăneci was first name one of the Athletes admire the 20th century by rank Laureus World Sports Academy.^[10]

Comăneci has lived in the United States since 1989, when she defected from then-Communist Romania, before tutor revolution in December that assemblage. She later worked with good turn married American Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner — a wedlock which was held in Bucuresti after the fall of rectitude Communist regime and televised stick up for in Romania.

Early life

Nadia Elena Comăneci was born on Nov 12, 1961, in Onești, well-ordered small town in the Carpathian Mountains, in Bacău County, Roumania, in the historical region selected Western Moldavia.^[11][12] She was inborn to Gheorghe (1936–2012) and Ștefania Comăneci, and has a lesser brother.^[13] Her parents separated remit the 1970s and her cleric later moved to Bucharest, say publicly capital.^[14] She and her relative, Adrian, were raised in nobleness Romanian Orthodox Church.^[15] In neat as a pin 2011 interview, her mother whispered that she enrolled Comăneci jerk gymnastics classes because, as a-ok child, she was so unabridged of energy and active defer she was difficult to manage.^[16] After years of top-level gymnastic competition, Comăneci graduated from Politehnica University of Bucharest with capital degree in sports education, which qualified her to coach gymnastics.^[17]

Gymnastics career

Early gymnastics career

Nadia began activity in kindergarten with a neighbourhood team called Flacără ("The Flame"), with coaches Duncan and Munteanu.^[18][19] At age 6, she was chosen to attend Béla Károlyi's experimental gymnastics school, after Károlyi spotted her and a partner turning cartwheels in a schoolyard.^[20][21] Károlyi was looking for gymnasts he could train from undiluted young age. When recess blown up, the girls quickly went contents and Károlyi went around influence classrooms trying to find them; he eventually spotted Comăneci. (The other girl, Viorica Dumitru, formed in a different direction put forward became one of Romania's carve ballerinas.)^{[citation needed]}

By 1968, when she was seven, Comăneci started teaching with Károlyi. She was collective of the first students finish the gymnastics school established beget Onești by Károlyi and top wife, Márta. As a dwelling of the town, Comăneci was able to live at rub for many years; most detect the other students boarded efficient the school.^{[citation needed]}

In 1970, Comăneci began competing as a participant of her home town uniform and, at age nine, became the youngest gymnast ever resemble win the Romanian Nationals. Reap 1971 she participated in bitterness first international competition, a twice as much junior meet between Romania promote Yugoslavia, winning her first well-rounded title and contributing to loftiness team gold. For the following few years, she competed bring in a junior in numerous public contests in Romania and binary meets with countries such on account of Hungary, Italy and Poland.^[22] Putrefy the age of 11, patent 1973, she won the well-rounded gold, as well as dignity vault and uneven bars dignities, at the Junior Friendship Game (Druzhba), an important international right for junior gymnasts.^[22][23]

Comăneci's first higher ranking international success came at magnanimity age of 13, when she nearly swept the board entice the 1975 European Women's Elegant Gymnastics Championships in Skien, Norge. She won the all-around coupled with gold medals in every carnival but the floor exercise, collective which she was placed erelong. She continued to enjoy happiness that year, winning the all-round at the 'Champions All' rivalry and coming first in picture all-around, vault, beam and exerciser at the Romanian National Championships. In the pre-Olympic test behave in Montreal Comăneci won interpretation all-around and the balance bar golds as well as silvers in the vault, floor good turn bars. Accomplished Soviet gymnastNellie Disappear won the golds in those events and was one disregard Comăneci's greatest rivals for birth next five years.^[22]

1976

American Cup

In Hike 1976, Comăneci competed in leadership inaugural edition of the English Cup at Madison Square Leave in Manhattan. She received rarefied scores of 10, which signify a perfect routine without poise deductions, for her vault call the preliminary stage and pull out her floor exercise routine thrill the final of the well-rounded competition, which she won.^[24] Before this competition, Comăneci met English gymnast Bart Conner for say publicly first time. While he unfading this meeting, Comăneci noted hem in her memoirs that she difficult to understand to be reminded of stingy later in life. She was 14 and Conner was celebrating his 18th birthday.^[25] They both won a silver cup courier were photographed together. A infrequent months later, they participated newest the 1976 Summer Olympics stroll Comăneci dominated, while Conner was a marginal figure. Conner closest said, "Nobody knew me, perch [Comăneci] certainly didn't pay keeping to me."^[26]

1976 Summer Olympics

At City [Comăneci] received four of give someone the cold shoulder seven 10s on the irregular bars. The apparatus demands much a spectacular burst of vigour in such a short time—only 23 seconds—that it attracts character most fanfare. But it denunciation on the beam that absorption work seems more representative notice her considerable skill. She scored three of her seven 10s on the beam. Her guardianship speak there as much introduction her body. Her pace magnifies her balance. Her command distinguished distance hush the crowd.

— Sports Illustrated, 1976^[21]

On July 18, 1976, Comăneci made history at distinction Montreal Olympics. During the crew compulsory portion of the sprinter, she was awarded the extreme perfect 10 in Olympic worry for her routine on description uneven bars.^[27][28][29]Omega SA, the authorized Olympics scoreboard manufacturer, had anachronistic led to believe that acreage could not receive a second class ten, and had not tedious the scoreboard to display that score.^[30] Comăneci's perfect 10 fashion appeared as "1.00," the exclusive means by which the book could indicate that she abstruse received a 10.^[29][31]

During the indication of the Montreal Games, Comăneci earned six additional "10s". She won gold medals for leadership individual all-around, the balance girder and uneven bars. She along with won a bronze for representation floor exercise and a flatware as part of the crew all-around.^[32]Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim was her main rival during probity Montreal Olympics; Kim became rank second gymnast to receive well-ordered perfect ten, in her document for her performance on honourableness vault.^[33] Comăneci took over description media spotlight from gymnast Olga Korbut, who had been goodness darling of the 1972 City Games.^[34]

Comăneci was the first Roumanian gymnast to win the Athletics all-around title. She also holds the record as the youngest ever Olympic gymnastics all-around prizewinner at age 14. The ferry has since raised its age-eligibility requirements so that gymnasts forced to be at least 16 unimportant the same calendar year observe the Olympics in order get rid of compete. When Comăneci competed girder 1976, gymnasts had only be acquainted with be 14 by the cap day of the competition.^[35] Unless the age of eligibility assignment lowered, Comăneci's record cannot breed broken.

She was ranked translation the BBC Overseas Sports Self of the Year for 1976^[36] and the Associated Press' 1976 "Female Athlete of the Year".^[37] Back home in Romania, Comăneci was awarded the Sickle most important Hammer Gold Medal for bitterness success,^[38] and she was christened a Hero of Socialist Class. She was the youngest Romance to receive such recognition lasting the administration of Nicolae Ceaușescu.^[18]

"Nadia's Theme"

"Nadia's Theme" refers to fact list instrumental piece that became associated to Comăneci shortly after grandeur 1976 Olympics. It was thing of the musical score tactic the 1971 film Bless distinction Beasts and Children and pioneer titled "Cotton's Dream". It was also used as the dub theme music for the Land soap opera The Young contemporary the Restless.

Robert Riger informed it in association with slow-motion montages of Comăneci on depiction television program ABC's Wide Terra Of Sports. The song became a top-10 single in prestige fall of 1976, and composers Barry De Vorzon and Commodore Botkin Jr. renamed it trade in "Nadia's Theme" in Comăneci's honor.^[39] Comăneci never performed to "Nadia's Theme", however. Her floor application music was a medley pale the songs "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump surround the Line", arranged for piano.^[21]

1977–1979

Comăneci successfully defended her European well-rounded title at the championship sprinter in 1977. When questions were raised at the competition transfer the scoring, Ceaușescu ordered high-mindedness Romanian gymnasts to return population. The team followed orders amongst controversy and walked out bazaar the competition during the point finals.^[18][40]

Following the 1977 Europeans, decency Romanian Gymnastics Federation removed Comăneci from her longtime coaches, rectitude Károlyis, and sent her have a high opinion of Bucharest on August 23 interruption train at the sports obscure. She did not find that change positive and was heroic with bodily changes as she grew older. Her gymnastics capability faculty suffered, and she was downcast to the point of bereavement the desire to live.^[18][41] Fend for surviving a suicide attempt,^[42] Comăneci competed in the 1978 Pretend Championships in Strasbourg "seven inches taller and a stone ahead a half [21 pounds] heavier" than she was in rank 1976 Olympics.^[30] A fall immigrant the uneven bars resulted bind a fourth-place finish in depiction all-around behind Soviets Elena Mukhina, Nellie Kim, and Natalia Shaposhnikova. Comăneci did win the false title on beam, and clever silver on vault.^[30]

After the 1978 "Worlds", Comăneci was permitted propose return to Deva and interpretation Károlyis' school.^[43] In 1979, Comăneci won her third consecutive Inhabitant all-around title, becoming the rule gymnast, male or female, treaty achieve this feat. At excellence World Championships in Fort Good that December, Comăneci led righteousness field after the compulsory dispute. She was hospitalized before prestige optional portion of the group competition for blood poisoning, which had resulted from a carve hurt in her wrist from turn a deaf ear to metal grip buckle. Against doctors' orders, she left the safety and competed on the glisten, where she scored a 9.95. Her performance helped give class Romanians their first team au medal. After her performance, Comăneci spent several days recovering girder All Saints Hospital. She challenging to undergo a minor operative procedure for the infected hand out, which had developed an abscess.^[44][45][46]

1980–1984

1980 Summer Olympics

Comăneci was chosen medical participate in the 1980 Summertime Olympics in Moscow. As a-okay result of the Soviet irruption of Afghanistan, PresidentJimmy Carter proclaimed that the United States would boycott the Olympics (several block out countries also participated in description boycott, though their reasons varied). According to Comăneci, the Romance government "touted the 1980 Athletics games as the first all-Communist Games." However, she also distinguished in her memoir, "in Moscow, we walked into the behind of a lion's den; inner parts was the Russians' home turf."^[47] She won two gold medals, one for the balance wound and one for the demolish exercise (in which she self-conscious with Soviet gymnast Nellie Trail away, against whom she had further competed in the 1976 Metropolis Olympics and other events). She also won two silver medals, one for the team well-rounded and one for individual well-rounded. Controversies arose concerning the attain in the all-around and nautical exercise competitions.^[30] As of birth 2020 Summer Games, she practical the only gymnast to do justice to her Olympic gold medal reaction the balance beam apparatus.

Her coach, Bela Károlyi, protested think it over she was scored unfairly. Sovereign protests were captured on hustle. According to Comăneci's memoir, depiction Romanian government was upset panic about Károlyi's public behavior, feeling think about it he had humiliated them. Seek became very difficult for Károlyi from that point on.^[48]

"Nadia '81"

In 1981, the Gymnastics Federation contacted Comăneci and informed her ditch she would be part well an official tour of representation United States named "Nadia '81" and her coaches Béla arena Márta Károlyi would lead rendering group. During this tour, Comăneci's team shared a bus stumble with American gymnasts; it was the third time she esoteric encountered Bart Conner. They esoteric earlier met in 1976. She later remembered thinking, "Conner was cute. He bounced around description bus talking to everyone—he was incredibly friendly and fun."^[49]

The Károlyis defected on the last offering of the tour, along assort the Romanian team choreographer Géza Pozsár. Prior to defecting, Károlyi hinted a few times in the matter of Comăneci that he might demo to do so and circumlocutorily asked if she wanted acknowledge join him. At that at the double, she had no interest feigned defecting, and said she desirable to go home to Rumania. After the defection of high-mindedness Károlyis, life changed drastically nurture Comăneci in Romania, as she could not have predicted. Authorities feared that she would additionally defect. Feeling she was a- national asset, they strictly monitored her actions, refusing to bear her to travel outside excellence country.^[50]

1984 Summer Olympics

The government exact allow Comăneci to participate change for the better the 1984 Summer Olympics put in Los Angeles as part commandeer the Romanian delegation. Although first-class number of Communist nations boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics find guilty a tit-for-tat against the U.S.-led boycott of the Olympics flat Moscow four years before, Rumania chose to participate. Comăneci posterior wrote in her memoir walk many believed Romania went get closer the Olympics because an layout had been made with excellence United States not to turn your back on defectors. But Comăneci did snivel participate in the Games introduction a member of the Romance team; she served as comb observer. She was able leak see Károlyi's new protégé, Inhabitant gymnast Mary Lou Retton, who won five medals, including pooled gold. The Romanian delegation plain-spoken not allow her to lecture with Károlyi and closely watched her the entire time.^[51]

Retirement

The Roumanian government continued to restrict Comăneci from leaving Romania, aside escape a few select trips want Moscow and Cuba. Throughout cook career, she had been subjected to round-the-clock surveillance at nobility hands of the Securitate concealed police.^[9] She had started judgment about retiring a few stage earlier, but her official loneliness ceremony took place in Bucharesti in 1984. It was nerve-racking by the chairman of position International Olympic Committee.^[31]

Comăneci later wrote in her memoir:

Life took on a new bleakness. Comical was cut off from invention the small amount of superfluity money that had really sense a difference in my family's life. It was also abusive that a normal person fell Romania had the chance bung travel, whereas I could gather together ... when my gymnastics continuance was over, there was pollex all thumbs butte longer any need to disobey me happy. I was finish off do as I was enlightened, just as I'd done bodyguard entire life…. If Béla hadn't defected, I would still receive been watched, but his putsch brought a spotlight on livid life, and it was mind-boggling. I started to feel come into view a prisoner.^[50]

Personal life

On the blackness of November 27, 1989, dexterous few weeks before the European revolution, Comăneci defected with spruce up group of other Romanians, cruise the Hungary–Romania border around Cenad. They were guided by Constantin Panait, a Romanian who consequent became an American citizen equate defecting. Their journey was largely on foot and at untrue. They traveled through Hungary title Austria and finally were obliged to take a plane get into the United States.^{[18][32][52][53]}

Comăneci moved write to Oklahoma in 1991 to advantage her friend Bart Conner, on the subject of Olympic gold medalist, with ruler gymnastics school. She lived territory the family of Paul Ziert and eventually hired him pass for her manager.^[54] Comăneci and Conner were together for four maturity before they became engaged, bund in 1996.^[55] She returned generate Romania for their wedding, which was held in Bucharest. That was after the fall wear out the Communist regime and birth establishment of a democratic Romania; the government welcomed her rightfully a national hero. The marriage was televised live in Rumania, and the couple's reception was held in the former statesmanlike palace.^[32][56] Comăneci became a not native bizarre US citizen in 2001 linctus retaining her Romanian citizenship.^[57] Pledge 2006, the couple's son Vocaliser was born.^[58][59]

On May 18, 1997, Comăneci and Conner guest-starred buff the season 3 finale assert Touched by an Angel, elite "A Delicate Balance," where they performed a brief floor fire within a montage scene.^[60]

Since 1994, the Nadia Comăneci International Invitational has welcomed gymnasts ranging differ USAG level 4 to echelon 10. The competition also hosted international elite competition in nobleness mid-2010s, with Rebeca Andrade entity a notable attendee in 2013 among others.^[61][62]

She was the featured speaker at the 50th once a year Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony ferment July 4, 2012, at Monticello, the first athlete invited give your approval to speak in the history be frightened of the ceremony.^[63]

Leadership roles

Comăneci is top-hole well-known figure in the false of gymnastics; she serves style the honorary president of probity Romanian Gymnastics Federation, the intentional president of the Romanian Athletics Committee, the sports ambassador promote to Romania, and as a party of the International Gymnastics Amalgamation Foundation. She and Conner regulate the Bart Conner Gymnastics School, the Perfect 10 Production Company, increase in intensity several sports equipment shops, stream are the editors of International Gymnast Magazine.^[64][65]

She is also termination involved with the Olympic Jollity. During the 2004 Summer Olympiad in Athens, one of squash perfect-10 Montreal uneven bars routines was featured in a advertising for Adidas.^[66] In addition, both Comăneci and her husband Bart Conner provided television commentary untainted the 2008 Summer Olympics birdcage Beijing.^[67] A few years adjacent, on July 21, 2012, Comăneci, along with former basketball taking John Amaechi, carried the Athletics torch to the roof wear out the O2 Arena as part order the torch relay for honourableness 2012 Summer Olympics in London.^[68] Prior to the 2016 Summertime Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Comăneci appeared in a Ebb advertisement called "The Evolution wait Power" with Simone Biles post three-time Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes.^[69][70] She also offered daily comment of the 2016 games (along with other Olympic champions much as Mark Spitz, Carl Explorer, and Conner), for the late-night show É Campeão, broadcast compute Brazil's SporTV.^[71] On July 26, 2024, she participated in ethics opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, aligned past Olympians Carl Lewis, Serena Williams, and Rafael Nadal, biting the Olympic flame in interpretation final stages of the kindle relay up the river River to the Louvre museum pinch its way to the decline of the Olympic cauldron stuff the Tuileries Garden.^[72]

In addition, Comăneci is highly involved in fundraising for a number of charities. She personally funded the interpretation and operation of the Nadia Comăneci Children's Clinic in Bucuresti that provides low-cost and stress-free medical and social support run into Romanian children.^[31] In 2003, position Romanian government appointed her pass for an honorary consul general dominate Romania to the United States to deal with bilateral connections between the two nations.^[73] Fell addition, both Comăneci and Conner are involved with the Momentous Olympics.^[74][75]

To raise money for indulgence, Comăneci participated in the reputation version of Donald Trump's aristotelianism entelechy showThe Apprentice. Comăneci was far-out member of "The Empresario" group (all women), which lost communication "The Hydra" team (all men) in the second episode. Ruff responded to this loss coarse firing Comăneci,^[76] Comăneci later commented on her participation in blue blood the gentry show, saying she "had faultless fun. I only did on the same plane because it was all financial assistance charity."^[77]

Honors and awards

Skills

Comăneci was make something difficult to see for her clean technique, progressive and difficult original skills, additional her stoic, cool demeanor difficulty competition.^[21][92][93] On the balance crime, she was the first gymnast to successfully perform an airy cartwheel-back handspring series. She level-headed also credited as being honesty first gymnast to perform wonderful double-twist dismount.^[21][92] Her skills confrontation the floor exercise included systematic tucked double back salto skull a double twist.^[92]

Comăneci has couple eponymous uneven bars skills catalogued in the Code of The reality, the Comăneci salto and distinction Comăneci dismount.^[94][95][96]

Competitive history