As A Teen She Made History As The First Gymnast To Be Awarded A Perfect 10 In The Olympics
If you’re a gymnastics enthusiast, chances are you’ve heard of five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comăneci.
If not, get ready to hear her amazing story as a woman who made epic history when she was only a teenager.
Nadia was born in November 1961 in Romania. She was a very active child with lots of energy, so her mother had the idea of enrolling her in a gymnastics class.
When she was six, she was chosen to work with famous gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi and started training at him and his wife’s new school.
She began competing on her hometown team when she was nine years old and already made history by becoming the youngest gymnast to ever win the Romanian Nationals.
One year later, she participated in her first international competition, where she helped win the gold for her team.
Nadia kept growing stronger and more successful as a gymnast year by year, winning several gold medals in national and international competitions.
She competed in the 1976 American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where she scored a 10 and was awarded the European all-around title.
Then, that summer, at the age of 14, she had a career-defining and history-making moment. At the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, she became the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 after her routine on the uneven bars.
moodboard – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
That day, the scoreboard actually malfunctioned and couldn’t even display all of the digits needed for her perfect score since no one had ever thought it was possible.
But it was indeed possible, and she continued to get a perfect score six more times throughout the rest of the Olympic games and racked up more gold medals. Can you imagine doing something like that at 14?
Between 1977 and 1984, Nadia continued her work as a gymnast, winning more awards and competing as often as she could.
However, she faced challenges along the way, like restrictions and strict monitoring from the Romanian government that forced her to separate from some of the people she worked with.
Nadia officially retired from competitive gymnastics in 1984 and fled to the United States in 1989, weeks before the Romanian Revolution.
In 1991, she moved to Oklahoma to help her friend, American Olympic gymnast Bart Conner, run a gymnastics school.
Four years later, they got engaged and married in April 1996. They have a son and are still together now.
Today, Nadia is still a fascinating working woman. She is still helping Bart run the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Oklahoma.
In addition, she has leadership roles in various Romanian sports organizations, has done work related to the Olympics, founded a production company, and is involved in several great charities.
Of course, Nadia is also still an inspiration to young gymnasts worldwide.
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