Comaneci, Nadia

Nadia Comaneci

1961-

Romanian gymnast

Nadia Comaneci made her mark on the gymnastics scene and on the world with her breathtaking performances at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada. At the age of 14 Comaneci became the first gymnast to earn a perfect ten score in Olympic competition. In two Olympic appearances Comaneci earned five gold, three silver, and one bronze medal. After she retired from the sport she immigrated to the United States from Romania. She has remained active in gymnastics as a coach, analyst, magazine publisher, and exhibition athlete.

Nadia Elena Comaneci was born on November 12, 1961, in Onesti (formally known as Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej), Romania. She was named after a heroine Nadejda from a Russian film that her parents had seen before her birth. She was the oldest of two children born to Gheorghe and Stefania Comaneci. Her younger brother Adrian was born six years later. Her father worked as an auto mechanic, while her mother was an office employee.

Comaneci was an energetic child who loved to explore new things and to be active. "If ever a child aged its parents overnight, it was me," wrote Comaneci in her 1981 autobiography titled Nadia. "I was virtually uncontrollable." Comaneci found an outlet for all of her energy in gymnastics, which she began to learn in kindergarten. When she was six years old, Comaneci

and a friend were spotted doing cartwheels by the prominent Romanian gymnastic coach, Bela Karolyi . He and his wife Marta were looking for young children to train for the Romanian National Junior Team.

Discovered by Famous Coach

The Karolyis invited Comaneci to train with them. She attended gymnastics lessons two to three hours a day. From the beginning Comaneci showed that she was fearless and willing to try new and difficult moves. She also exhibited a good work ethic and practiced her routines on her own initiative. In 1969 Comaneci entered her first major competition, the Romanian National Junior Championships. She placed thirteenth that year. However, she returned the following year to win the Junior Championships, which was the first of many victories for Comaneci.

Comaneci held her Junior Championship title for the next few years. By the time she was 12 years old she moved into a state-run gymnastics training school where she trained with Karolyi for eight hours a day, six days a week. Comaneci continued to improve her technique, adding increasingly difficult moves to her routines, and she continued to be successful at championships. In 1976 Comaneci won first place for the all around competition, as well as for vault, uneven bars, and balance beam at both the Romanian Championships and the European Championships held in Norway. At the European Championships she upset the two-time defending champion, Lyudmila Turischeva, who was expecting another victory.

Comaneci took the world gymnastics scene by storm with her impeccable technique and her daring moves. However, her stoic style was often compared with the bubbly personality of Russian champion Olga Korbut , who won the hearts of the audience with her smiles and her tears. In contrast, Comaneci rarely smiled and was often perceived as cold or sad. Comaneci explained in her autobiography Nadia that "a gymnast must always be controlled, during training and, even more importantly, during a performance. The sport demands total concentration, and a gymnast gets used to the idea that any extraneous expression or thought is a waste of energy."

Earned a Perfect Ten at the Olympics

Despite her demeanor Comaneci managed to win over both the judges and the audience at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada. She also made history at these games by becoming the first gymnast to score a perfect ten on an apparatus. The record breaking moment came with Comaneci's performance on the uneven bars. However, the judging equipment was not equipped to display the four digits of a 10.00 score, so the scoreboard simply showed 1.00. The crowd soon understood the meaning of the score when the announcer declared, "Ladies and gentleman, for the first time in Olympic history, Nadia Comaneci has received the score of a perfect ten," reported Septima Green in Top 10 Women Gymnasts.

Comaneci earned a total of seven perfect ten scores at those Olympic Games. She won three gold medals for the all-around competition, uneven bars, and balance beam. She also won a silver medal for the team competition and a bronze medal for the floor exercise. Comaneci became the first Romanian to win the all-around title and she was also the youngest all-around champion at 14 years old. "The technical purity of her performance is her most brilliant characteristic. Physically she has strength, speed, and flexibility. Mentally, she has intelligence, phenomenal powers of concentration—and courage," Bela Karolyi told Peter Bonventre of Newsweek.

Chronology

1961	Born on November 12 in Onesti, Romania
1967	Begins training with Bela and Marta Karolyi
1969	Places 13th in first national competition
1970	Wins Romanian National Junior Championships
1975	Wins five gold medas at European Championships
1976	Scores first perfect ten at Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada
1976	Wins three gold, one silver, and one bronze medal at Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada
1977	Wins two gold medals at European Championships
1978	Wins three gold and one bronze medal at European Championships
1980	Wins two gold and two silver medals at Olympic Games in Moscow, U.S.S.R.
1981	Wins five gold medals at World University Games
1984	Retires from gymnastics
1989	Immigrates to the United States
1996	Marries American gymnast Bart Conner
2001	Becomes a United States citizen

Awards and Accomplishments

1969	Thirteenth place Romanian National Junior Championships
1970-71	First place Romanian National Junior Championship
1971	First place all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, Cup of the Romanian Gymnastic Federation
1972	First place team and all-around, Romanian National Junior Championship
1972	First place team, Cup of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation
1973	First place all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, International Championships of Romania
1973	First place team and all-around, Romanian Senior Championships
1974	First place team and all-around, Romania-Poland-USA Junior TriMeet
1975	First place all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, European Championships
1975	First place team, all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise, Romanian Championships
1976	First place all-around, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, second place team, Olympic Games
1976	Named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
1977	First place all-around and uneven bars, European Championships
1977	First place team and all-around, Balkan Championships
1977	First place all-around, International Championship of Romania
1977	First place all-around, Orleans International
1978	First place bars, second place vault and team, World Championships
1979	First place all-around, vault, and floor exercise, third place balance beam, European Championships
1979	First place all-around, International Championship of Romania
1979	First place team, World Championships
1979	First place vault and floor exercise, second place balance beam, World Cup
1979	First place team, all-around, vault, and uneven bars, second place floor exercise, Balkan Championships
1980	First place uneven bars, International Championship of Romania
1980	First place bars and floor exercise, second place team and all-around, Olympic Games
1981	First place team, all-around, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam, University Games
1984	Received Olympic Order Award
1991	Inducted into Sudafed International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
1993	Inducted into International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
1996	Named Honorary President of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation
1996	Honored in Atlanta's Opening Ceremonies as an Unforgettable Olympian
1998	Received Flo Hyman Award celebrating National Girls and Women in Sport Day
2001	Named Sportswoman of the Century, World Sports Awards

Comaneci also tried to endear the crowd by smiling and waving more often than she had in other competitions, but this did not change the media's impression of her as an unhappy child. "Here was an example of a dour, cheerless child driven to icy perfection by a totalitarian state," wrote Robert Lindsey of the New York Times. After the 1976 Olympics rumors also circulated claiming that Comaneci was no longer a top gymnast because she had gained a lot of weight and had tried to commit suicide. Comaneci denied those rumors and continued to compete internationally.

Returned to the Olympics for More Gold

Comaneci continued to win medals at the European Championships in 1977 and 1979 and the World Championships in 1978. In 1979 she became the only woman to win three European all-around titles. Comaneci returned to the Olympics in 1980 in Moscow, U.S.S.R. The Americans boycotted the event as a political statement against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, Comaneci's biggest competition came from the Soviets. Unfortunately Comaneci's performance at the 1980 Olympics was not perfect. In fact, she fell off of the uneven bars during the team competition. "More than my dignity had been bruised in that fall, and as I gingerly made my way back to the bench, I was half aware of the sympathetic stares from some of my fellow competitors. At first I felt angry, and then strangely numb, until I sat down when I was furious with myself," Comaneci wrote in her autobiography Nadia.

To make matters worse, Comaneci was also not able to defend her all around champion title. Three women, including Comaneci, were in the running for the title when they all went to do their final apparatus. Comaneci gave a spectacular performance on the balance beam, but the judges only awarded her a score of 9.85. This meant that she placed second in the all around, behind Soviet gymnast Yelena Davydova. Coach Karolyi was furious and disputed the score, charging that the host team was influencing the results so that their gymnast became champion. The score remained unchanged and Comaneci had to settle for a silver all-around medal. Despite these difficulties, Comaneci also won gold medals for balance beam and floor exercise, and a team silver medal.

In 1981 Comaneci completed in the World University Games in Bucharest, Romania, where she won first place for the team competition, all around competition, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam. This was her last major competition and she officially retired from gymnastics in 1984. "I regret that from now on I will never know the excitement of competition," Nadia was quoted in the New York Times.

Escaped from Communism

The 1980s were a difficult time for Comaneci. She was living in a totalitarian country that was not only politically repressive, but also struggling economically. Coach Karolyi and his wife defected to the United States in 1981. The Romanian government feared that she might do the same so her international travels were restricted and tightly guarded. In many other ways, however, Comaneci was treated as a celebrity. She and her family lived in a large home, she owned a car, and she had many privileges that her fellow countrymen did not enjoy. After retirement she finished college at the University of Physical Education and she worked as a state coach.

Despite her celebrity status Comaneci was unhappy because of the difficult living conditions in her country and because of her lack of personal freedom. In 1989 she decided to defect to the United States with the help of her manager Konstantin Panit, a Romanian expatriate who worked as a roofer in Florida. When she arrived in the United States Comaneci told Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, "I am very happy because I am here in America. I wanted for a long time to come here, but I didn't have anyone to help me."

However, the American media did not exactly welcome Comaneci. Stories circulated that she and Panit were a couple, even though Panit had a wife and children in Florida. Comaneci maintained that she was held hostage by Panit who was trying to exploit Comaneci's fame for his own financial gain. He threatened to send her back to Romania if she did not cooperate. Eventually her gymnast friends and former coach Karolyi intervened on her behalf. Panit fled with Comaneci's money, but she finally had her freedom.

Where Is She Now?

Comaneci lives in Norman, Oklahoma with her husband Bart Conner. The couple own and operate the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, which trains more than 1,000 students. Comaneci has also opened a gymnastics school in Romania. The couple produces and performs in gymnastics exhibitions. In addition, they own Perfect 10 Productions, which sponsors a Fox television show that analyzes European gymnastics competitions, and they have hosted a food and fitness show on the cable Food Network. They also manufacture gymnastics products, such as leather hand guards and tumbling and vaulting shoes. Conner and Comaneci co-publish International Gymnast magazine with coach Paul Ziert, and Comaneci serves as editor of the magazine. Comaneci has served as a spokesperson for a variety of products, including Jockey, Danskin Avon, Kodak, Coca-Cola, and organizations, such as the Women's Sports Foundation and the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Both Comaneci and Conner are active in numerous charities, including the Special Olympics.

Comaneci spent the following year in Montreal with the family of Alexandru Stefu, a fellow Romanian. She then moved to Norman, Oklahoma to work with coach Paul Ziert. She also developed a strong friendship with American gymnast Bart Conner . The two gymnasts performed in exhibitions together an eventually began dating. They married in Romania in 1996. They both work as coaches at the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman and they also have several other business ventures together. In 2001 Comaneci became a United States citizen.

For over 40 years Comaneci has managed to captivate the world both as an athlete and in her personal life. She is one of the most memorable Olympic athletes who has dedicated her career to promoting the sport of gymnastics. According to Frank Litsky of the New York Times, Comaneci gives the following advice to the young gymnasts that she trains: "If you go for a little gold every day instead of saving that energy for a big championship, that's the best way."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 3206 Bart Conner Dr., Norman, OK 73072-2406. Phone: (405) 447-7500.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY COMANECI:

Nadia, London: Proteus, 1981.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Cohen, Joel. Superstars of Women's Gynmastics. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1997.

The Complete Marquis Who's Who. Marquis Who's Who, 2001.

Encyclopedia of World Biography. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research, 1998.

Great Women in Sports. Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Green, Septima. Top 10 Women Gymnasts. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Periodicals

Amdur, Neil. "Miss Comaneci Loses to Russian as Result is Marred by Dispute." The New York Times (July 25, 1980): A15.

Atkin, Ross. "Nadia Comaneci Finds Balance Off the Beam." The Christian Science Monitor (June 17, 1996): 14.

Bonventre, Peter. "Princess of the Games." Newsweek (August 2, 1976): 68.

Brady, Erik. "Tiny Comaneci Was Colossus in '76. At Age 14, Gymnast Spun Perfection to Earn First 10." USA Today (July 18, 1996): 10C.

Gray, Kevin. "Head Over Heels: For Gold Medal Gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, Love Is Something to Flip For." People Weekly (March 17, 1995): 105.

"Gymnast Nadia Comaneci Leaps for Freedom and Lands in the Arms of a Married Father of Four." People Weekly (December 18, 1989): 116.

Hallman, Charley. "Perfect in the Past, Comaneci Sees a Brighter Future." Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service (April 11, 1996).

Heller, Dick. "Comaneci Made Perfection Routine in 1976 Olympics." The Washington Times (July 29, 2002): C13.

"Here Flips the Bride." Sports Illustrated (May 6, 1996): 22-23.

Jenkins, Sally. "Comaneci Arrives in New York; Ex-Gymnastics Star Gets Refugee Status." The Washington Post (December 2, 1989): D1.

Leibowitz, Elissa. "Comaneci Vaults Back into the Spotlight; Olympic Gymnast Receives Women's Sports Foundation Award." The Washington Post (February 6, 1998): C02.

Lindsey, Robert. "Nadia Comaneci Still Glows as Images of 1976 Recede." The New York Times (July 29, 1984).

Litsky, Frank. "Comaneci's Landing in the West Remains Perfect." The New York Times (August 12, 2001).

Lorge, Barry. "Comaneci Finally Wins Two Golds as Judging Controversies Continue." The Washington Post (July 26, 1980): F1.

"Nadia Comaneci, Now Married to US Gymnast Bart Conner; Her Two Gold Medals in '80 'Better than any American Did.'" The Plain Dealer (September 11, 2000): 9C.

"Nadia Comaneci's Road to Freedom." USA Today (December 5, 1989): 9C.

"Nadia Comaneci Takes Gold." The New York Times (July 22, 1981): B5.

"Nadia Comaneci Timeline." The Times-Picayune (November 28, 1999): C14.

"New Nadia." U.S. News and World Report (December 11, 1989): 18.

"Perfection Personified." Time (August 5, 1996): 18.

Peter, Josh. "The First to Perfection; Nadia Comaneci's Work Ethic and Technical Genius Made Her the Best." The Times-Picayune (November 28, 1999): C14.

Raboin, Sharon. "Comaneci Set the Standard." USA Today (July 30, 1999): 9C.

Schmalz, Jeffrey. "Scorn Gives Comaneci a Lesson in Image." The New York Times (December 13, 1989): A22.

Schneider, Karen S. "After Escaping Her Romanian Svengali, Nadia Comaneci Tries to Get Her Live Back on the Beam." People Weekly (November 26, 1990): 52.

Stoeltje, Melissa Fletcher. "Let's Do Lunch With Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci." The Houston Chronicle (May 20, 1993): 3.

Sullivan, Kevin. "Comaneci Finds Her Balance: Defection in 1989 Leads to New Life." The Washington Post (October 12, 1995): D06.

"Tearful Comaneci Farewell." The New York Times (May 7, 1984): C10.

Weir, Tom. "Changed Comaneci Eager for Visit Home."USA Today (October 18, 1994): 3C.

White, Carolyn. "Comaneci Spreads Gymnastics Word." USA Today (February 5, 1998): 6C.

White, Carolyn. "Karolyi Doesn't Doubt Comaneci Charge." USA Today (October 17, 1990): 2C.

Other

Gymn Forum. http://www.gymn-forum.com/bios/comaneci.html (December 18, 2002).

International Gymnast Magazine. http://www.intlgymnast.com/magazine.html (December 31, 2002).

Nadia Comaneci Bio. http://www.nadiacomaneci.com/nadia_comaneci_bio.htm (December 31, 2002).

Sketch by Janet P. Stamatel