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Nadia Comăneci
Comăneci in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Nadia Elena Comăneci
Nickname(s)	Nana
Born	(1961-11-12) November 12, 1961 (age 63) Onești, Romanian PR
Residence	Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height	5 ft 3.5 in (1.61 m)
Spouse	Bart Conner ​(m. 1996)​
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Country represented	Romania
Years on national team	1970–1984 (ROU)
College team	Politehnica University of Bucharest
Level	Senior Elite
Gym	National Training Center
Former coach(es)	Béla Károlyi Márta Károlyi
Choreographer	Géza Pozsár
Eponymous skills	Comăneci salto (uneven bars)
Retired	May 7, 1984 (official)
Medal record Representing  Romania Women's artistic gymnastics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 5 3 1 World Championships 2 2 0 World Cup Final 2 1 0 European Championships 9 2 1 Summer Universiade 5 0 0 Total 23 8 2 Olympic Games 1976 Montréal All-Around 1976 Montréal Uneven Bars 1976 Montréal Balance Beam 1980 Moscow Balance Beam 1980 Moscow Floor Exercise 1976 Montréal Team 1980 Moscow Team 1980 Moscow All-Around 1976 Montréal Floor Exercise World Championships 1978 Strasbourg Balance Beam 1979 Ft. Worth Team 1978 Strasbourg Team 1978 Strasbourg Vault World Cup Final 1979 Tokyo Vault 1979 Tokyo Floor Exercise 1979 Tokyo Balance Beam European Championships 1975 Skien All-Around 1975 Skien Uneven Bars 1975 Skien Balance Beam 1975 Skien Vault 1977 Prague All-Around 1977 Prague Uneven Bars 1979 Copenhagen All-Around 1979 Copenhagen Vault 1979 Copenhagen Floor Exercise 1975 Skien Floor Exercise 1977 Prague Vault 1979 Copenhagen Balance Beam Summer Universiade 1981 Bucharest Team 1981 Bucharest All-Around 1981 Bucharest Uneven Bars 1981 Bucharest Vault 1981 Bucharest Floor Exercise

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. A five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events, in 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games. At the same Games (1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal), she received six more perfect 10s for events en route to winning three gold medals. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, she won two more gold medals and achieved two more perfect 10s. During her career, she won nine Olympic medals and four World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals.

One of the world's best-known gymnasts, Comăneci, along with Olga Korbut of the Soviet Union, displayed artistry and grace, which brought unprecedented global popularity to the sport in the mid-1970s. Called "the most iconic gymnast of the 20th century" by El País, Comăneci was named one of the Athletes of the 20th century by the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Comăneci has lived in the United States since 1989, when she defected from then-Communist Romania, before its revolution in December that year. She later worked with and married American Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner — a wedding which was held in Bucharest after the fall of the Communist regime and televised live in Romania — who set up his own school.

Early life

Nadia Elena Comăneci was born on November 12, 1961, in Onești, a small town in the Carpathian Mountains, in Bacău County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. She was born to Gheorghe (1936–2012) and Ștefania Comăneci, and has a younger brother. Her parents separated in the 1970s and her father later moved to Bucharest, the capital. She and her brother, Adrian, were raised in the Romanian Orthodox Church. In a 2011 interview, her mother said that she enrolled Comăneci into gymnastics classes because as a child, she was so full of energy and active that she was difficult to manage. After years of top-level athletic competition, Comăneci graduated from Politehnica University of Bucharest with a degree in sports education, which qualified her to coach gymnastics.

Gymnastics career

Early gymnastics career

Comăneci began gymnastics in kindergarten with a local team called Flacăra ("The Flame"), with coaches Duncan and Munteanu. At age 6, she was chosen to attend Béla Károlyi's experimental gymnastics school, after Károlyi spotted her and a friend turning cartwheels in a schoolyard. Károlyi was looking for gymnasts he could train from a young age. When recess ended, the girls quickly went inside and Károlyi went around the classrooms trying to find them; he eventually spotted Comăneci. (The other girl, Viorica Dumitru, developed in a different direction and became one of Romania's top ballerinas.)

By 1968, when she was seven, Comăneci started training with Károlyi. She was one of the first students at the gymnastics school established in Onești by Károlyi and his wife, Márta. As a resident of the town, Comăneci was able to live at home for many years; most of the other students boarded at the school.

In 1970, Comăneci began competing as a member of her home town team and, at age nine, became the youngest gymnast ever to win the Romanian Nationals. In 1971 she participated in her first international competition, a dual junior meet between Romania and Yugoslavia, winning her first all-around title and contributing to the team gold. For the next few years, she competed as a junior in numerous national contests in Romania and dual meets with countries such as Hungary, Italy and Poland. At the age of 11, in 1973, she won the all-around gold, as well as the vault and uneven bars titles, at the Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important international meet for junior gymnasts.

Comăneci's first major international success came at the age of 13, when she nearly swept the board at the 1975 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Skien, Norway. She won the all-around and gold medals in every event but the floor exercise, in which she was placed second. She continued to enjoy success that year, winning the all-around at the 'Champions All' competition and coming first in the all-around, vault, beam and bars at the Romanian National Championships. In the pre-Olympic test event in Montreal Comăneci won the all-around and the balance beam golds as well as silvers in the vault, floor and bars. Accomplished Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim won the golds in those events and was one of Comăneci's greatest rivals for the next five years.

1976

American Cup

In March 1976, Comăneci competed in the inaugural edition of the American Cup at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. She received rare scores of 10, which signified a perfect routine without any deductions, for her vault in the preliminary stage and for her floor exercise routine in the final of the all-around competition, which she won. During this competition, Comăneci met American gymnast Bart Conner for the first time. While he remembered this meeting, Comăneci noted in her memoirs that she had to be reminded of it later in life. She was 14 and Conner was celebrating his 18th birthday. They both won a silver cup and were photographed together. A few months later, they participated in the 1976 Summer Olympics that Comăneci dominated, while Conner was a marginal figure. Conner later said, "Nobody knew me, and certainly didn't pay attention to me."

1976 Summer Olympics

At Montreal received four of her seven 10s on the uneven bars. The apparatus demands such a spectacular burst of energy in such a short time—only 23 seconds—that it attracts the most fanfare. But it is on the beam that her work seems more representative of her considerable skill. She scored three of her seven 10s on the beam. Her hands speak there as much as her body. Her pace magnifies her balance. Her command and distance hush the crowd.

— Sports Illustrated, 1976

On July 18, 1976, Comăneci made history at the Montreal Olympics. During the team compulsory portion of the competition, she was awarded the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics for her routine on the uneven bars. Omega SA, the official Olympics scoreboard manufacturer, had been led to believe that competitors could not receive a perfect ten, and had not programmed the scoreboard to display this score. Comăneci's perfect 10 thus appeared as "1.00," the only means by which the judges could indicate that she had received a 10.

During the remainder of the Montreal Games, Comăneci earned six additional "10s". She won gold medals for the individual all-around, the balance beam and uneven bars. She also won a bronze for the floor exercise and a silver as part of the team all-around. Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim was her main rival during the Montreal Olympics; Kim became the second gymnast to receive a perfect ten, in her case for her performance on the vault. Comăneci took over the media spotlight from gymnast Olga Korbut, who had been the darling of the 1972 Munich Games.

Comăneci was the first Romanian gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title. She also holds the record as the youngest ever Olympic gymnastics all-around champion at age 14. The sport has since raised its age-eligibility requirements so that gymnasts must be at least 16 in the same calendar year of the Olympics in order to compete. When Comăneci competed in 1976, gymnasts had only to be 14 by the first day of the competition. Unless the age of eligibility is lowered, Comăneci's record cannot be broken.

She was ranked as the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year for 1976 and the Associated Press' 1976 "Female Athlete of the Year". Back home in Romania, Comăneci was awarded the Sickle and Hammer Gold Medal for her success, and she was named a Hero of Socialist Labor. She was the youngest Romanian to receive such recognition during the administration of Nicolae Ceaușescu.

"Nadia's Theme"

"Nadia's Theme" refers to an instrumental piece that became linked to Comăneci shortly after the 1976 Olympics. It was part of the musical score of the 1971 film Bless the Beasts and Children and originally titled "Cotton's Dream". It was also used as the title theme music for the American soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Robert Riger used it in association with slow-motion montages of Comăneci on the television program ABC's Wide World Of Sports. The song became a top-10 single in the fall of 1976, and composers Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. renamed it as "Nadia's Theme" in Comăneci's honor. Comăneci never performed to "Nadia's Theme", however. Her floor exercise music was a medley of the songs "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump in the Line", arranged for piano.

1977–1979

Comăneci successfully defended her European all-around title at the championship competition in 1977. When questions were raised at the competition about the scoring, Ceaușescu ordered the Romanian gymnasts to return home. The team followed orders amid controversy and walked out of the competition during the event finals.

Following the 1977 Europeans, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation removed Comăneci from her longtime coaches, the Károlyis, and sent her to Bucharest on August 23 to train at the sports complex. She did not find this change positive and was struggling with bodily changes as she grew older. Her gymnastics skills suffered, and she was unhappy to the point of losing the desire to live. After surviving a suicide attempt, Comăneci competed in the 1978 World Championships in Strasbourg "seven inches taller and a stone and a half heavier" than she was in the 1976 Olympics. A fall from the uneven bars resulted in a fourth-place finish in the all-around behind Soviets Elena Mukhina, Nellie Kim, and Natalia Shaposhnikova. Comăneci did win the world title on beam, and a silver on vault.

After the 1978 "Worlds", Comăneci was permitted to return to Deva and the Károlyis' school. In 1979, Comăneci won her third consecutive European all-around title, becoming the first gymnast, male or female, to achieve this feat. At the World Championships in Fort Worth that December, Comăneci led the field after the compulsory competition. She was hospitalized before the optional portion of the team competition for blood poisoning, which had resulted from a cut in her wrist from her metal grip buckle. Against doctors' orders, she left the hospital and competed on the beam, where she scored a 9.95. Her performance helped give the Romanians their first team gold medal. After her performance, Comăneci spent several days recovering in All Saints Hospital. She had to undergo a minor surgical procedure for the infected hand, which had developed an abscess.

1980–1984

1980 Summer Olympics

Comăneci was chosen to participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. As a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter declared that the United States would boycott the Olympics (several other countries also participated in the boycott, though their reasons varied). According to Comăneci, the Romanian government "touted the 1980 Olympic games as the first all-Communist Games." However, she also noted in her memoir, "in Moscow, we walked into the mouth of a lion's den; it was the Russians' home turf." She won two gold medals, one for the balance beam and one for the floor exercise (in which she tied with Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim, against whom she had also competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and other events). She also won two silver medals, one for the team all-around and one for individual all-around. Controversies arose concerning the scoring in the all-around and floor exercise competitions. As of the 2020 Summer Games, she is the only gymnast to defend her Olympic gold medal 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 upset about Károlyi's public behavior, feeling that he had humiliated them. Life became very difficult for Károlyi from that point on.

"Nadia '81"

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

The Károlyis defected on the last day of the tour, along with the Romanian team choreographer Géza Pozsár. Prior to defecting, Károlyi hinted a few times to Comăneci that he might attempt to do so and indirectly asked if she wanted to join him. At that time, she had no interest in defecting, and said she wanted to go home to Romania. After the defection of the Károlyis, life changed drastically for Comăneci in Romania, as she could not have predicted. Officials feared that she would also defect. Feeling she was a national asset, they strictly monitored her actions, refusing to allow her to travel outside the country.

1984 Summer Olympics

The government did allow Comăneci to participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as part of the Romanian delegation. Although a number of Communist nations boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in a tit-for-tat against the U.S.-led boycott of the Olympics in Moscow four years before, Romania chose to participate. Comăneci later wrote in her memoir that many believed Romania went to the Olympics because an agreement had been made with the United States not to accept defectors. But Comăneci did not participate in the Games as a member of the Romanian team; she served as an observer. She was able to see Károlyi's new protégé, American gymnast Mary Lou Retton, who won five medals, including one gold. The Romanian delegation did not allow her to talk with Károlyi and closely watched her the entire time.

Retirement

The Romanian government continued to restrict Comăneci from leaving Romania, aside from a few select trips to Moscow and Cuba. Throughout her career, she had been subjected to round-the-clock surveillance at the hands of the Securitate secret police. She had started thinking about retiring a few years earlier, but her official retirement ceremony took place in Bucharest in 1984. It was attended by the chairman of the International Olympic Committee.

Comăneci later wrote in her memoir:

Life took on a new bleakness. I was cut off from making the small amount of extra money that had really made a difference in my family's life. It was also insulting that a normal person in Romania had the chance to travel, whereas I could not ... when my gymnastics career was over, there was no longer any need to keep me happy. I was to do as I was instructed, just as I'd done my entire life…. If Béla hadn't defected, I would still have been watched, but his defection brought a spotlight on my life, and it was blinding. I started to feel like a prisoner.

Defection and life in the United States

On the night of November 27, 1989, a few weeks before the Romanian revolution, Comăneci defected with a group of other Romanians, crossing the Hungary–Romania border around Cenad. They were guided by Constantin Panait, a Romanian who later became an American citizen after defecting. Their journey was mostly on foot and at night. They traveled through Hungary and Austria and finally were able to take a plane to the United States.

Comăneci moved to Oklahoma in 1991 to help her friend Bart Conner, another Olympic gold medalist, with his gymnastics school. She lived with the family of Paul Ziert and eventually hired him as her manager. Comăneci and Conner were together for four years before they became engaged, marrying in 1996. She returned to Romania for their wedding, which was held in Bucharest. This was after the fall of the Communist regime and the establishment of a capitalist Romania; the government welcomed her as a national hero. The wedding was televised live in Romania, and the couple's reception was held in the former presidential palace.

Since 1994, the Nadia Comăneci International Invitational has welcomed gymnasts ranging from USAG level 4 to level 10. The competition also hosted international elite competition in the mid-2010s, with Rebeca Andrade being a notable attendee in 2013 among others.

On May 18, 1997, Comăneci and Conner guest-starred on the season 3 finale of Touched by an Angel, entitled "A Delicate Balance", where they performed a brief floor exercise within a montage scene.

Comăneci became a naturalized US citizen in 2001, while retaining her Romanian citizenship. In 2006, the couple's son Dylan was born.

She was the featured speaker at the 50th annual Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony on July 4, 2012, at Monticello, the first athlete invited to speak in the history of the ceremony. In October 2017, an area in the Olympic Park in Montreal was renamed "Place Nadia Comaneci" in her honor.

Leadership roles

Comăneci is a well-known figure in the world of gymnastics; she serves as the honorary president of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, the honorary president of the Romanian Olympic Committee, the sports ambassador of Romania, and as a member of the International Gymnastics Federation Foundation. She and Conner own the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, the Perfect 10 Production Company, and several sports equipment shops, and are the editors of International Gymnast Magazine.

She is also still involved with the Olympic Games. During the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, one of her perfect-10 Montreal uneven bars routines was featured in a commercial for Adidas. In addition, both Comăneci and her husband Bart Conner provided television commentary for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. A few years later, on July 21, 2012, Comăneci, along with former basketball star John Amaechi, carried the Olympic torch to the roof of the O2 Arena as part of the torch relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Comăneci appeared in a TIDE advertisement called "The Evolution of Power" with Simone Biles and three-time Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes. She also offered daily analysis of the 2016 games (along with other Olympic champions such as Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, and Conner), for the late-night show É Campeão, broadcast on Brazil's SporTV.

In addition, Comăneci is highly involved in fundraising for a number of charities. She personally funded the construction and operation of the Nadia Comăneci Children's Clinic in Bucharest that provides low-cost and free medical and social support to Romanian children. In 2003, the Romanian government appointed her as an honorary consul general of Romania to the United States to deal with bilateral relations between the two nations. In addition, both Comăneci and Conner are involved with the Special Olympics.

To raise money for charity, Comăneci participated in the celebrity version of Donald Trump's reality show The Apprentice. Comăneci was a member of "The Empresario" team (all women), which lost to "The Hydra" team (all men) in the second episode. Trump responded to this loss by firing Comăneci, thwarting her plan for raising money. Comăneci later commented on her participation in the show, saying she "had great fun. I only did it because it was all for charity."

Honors and awards

• 1975 and 1976: The United Press International Athlete of the Year Award
• 1976: Hero of Socialist Labour
• 1976: Associated Press Athlete of the Year
• 1976: BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year
• 1983: The Olympic Order
• 1990: International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
• 1993: International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
• 1998: Marca Leyenda
• 1998: Flo Hyman Award
• 2004: The Olympic Order
• 2016: Great Immigrant Honoree: Carnegie Corporation of New York
• 2017: She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2017.
• 2021: Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Officer

Skills

"With her trademark verve, graceful delivery and unflickering precision, the 14-year-old from Romania set the bar to which future generations of gymnasts would aspire."

Comăneci was known for her clean technique, innovative and difficult original skills, and her stoic, cool demeanor in competition. On the balance beam, she was the first gymnast to successfully perform an aerial cartwheel-back handspring series. She is also credited as being the first gymnast to perform a double-twist dismount. Her skills on the floor exercise included a tucked double back salto and a double twist.

Comăneci has two eponymous uneven bars skills listed in the Code of Points, the Comăneci salto and the Comăneci dismount.

Competitive history

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
1971	Novice Romanian Championships		4
	Romanian Cup
	Junior ROM-YUG Dual Meet
1972	Novice Romanian Championships
	Junior Romanian Championships
	Romanian Cup
	BUL-ROM Dual Meet
	Friendship Tournament	4		6
	ROM-GDR Dual Meet
	ROM-RSFSR Dual Meet
	ROM-HUN Dual Meet
1973	International Championships of Romania
	Friendship Tournament
	ITA-ROM Dual Meet
	ROM-URS Dual Meet
	Romanian Team Championships
	Romanian Schools Championships
1974	Junior Romanian Championships
	ROM-POL-Denver Tri-Meet
Senior
1975	Champions All
	European Championships
	FRG-ROM Dual Meet
	Pre-Olympics
	Romanian Championships
	ROM-CAN Dual Meet
	ROM-ITA Dual Meet
1976	American Cup
	Balkan Championships
	CAN-ROM Dual Meet
	Chunichi Cup
	FRG-ROM Dual Meet
	GBR-ROM Dual Meet
	NED-ROM Dual Meet
	Olympic Games			4
	Romanian Championships
	USA-ROM Dual Meet
1977	Balkan Championships
	ESP-ROM Dual Meet I
	ESP-ROM Dual Meet II
	European Championships
	FRA-ROM Dual Meet
	International Championships of Romania
	Orleans International
	ROM-CAN Dual Meet
	USA-ROM Dual Meet
1978	ITA-ROM Dual Meet
	Milan International
	World Championships				5		8
1979	Balkan Championships
	Champions All
	European Championships				4
	International Championships of Romania
	World Championships
	World Cup Final		4
1980	International Championships of Romania
	ITA-ROM Dual Meet
	Olympic Games			5
1981	Daciada
	Summer Universiade

Book and films

• Comăneci's 2004 memoir, Letters to a Young Gymnast, is part of the Art of Mentoring series by Basic Books.
• Katie Holmes directed a short 2015 documentary for ESPN about Comăneci entitled Eternal Princess that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
• In 2016, Arte France produced a Pola Rapaport documentary about Comăneci entitled Nadia Comăneci, la gymnast et le dictateur ("Nadia Comăneci: The Gymnast and the Dictator").
• In 1984, Comăneci was the subject of a biopic television film, Nadia. The film was developed without her involvement (although the content was described to her by others). She later stated publicly that the producers never made contact with her: "I sincerely don't even want to see it; I feel so badly about it. It distorts my life so totally."
• In 2012, Universal Pictures chose Comăneci to dub Granny Norma in Romanian in the animated movie The Lorax.
• In 2021, Stejărel Olaru published in Romanian a biographical volume, Nadia și Securitatea ("Nadia and the Securitate"), at Epica Publishing House.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for Romania
• List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics
• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists

Notes

1. UK: /ˌkɒməˈnɛtʃ(i)/ KOM-ə-NETCH(-ee), US: /ˈkoʊməniːtʃ, ˌkoʊməˈniːtʃ/ KOH-mə-neech, -⁠NEECH, Romanian: [ˈnadi.a koməˈnetʃʲ] .
2. Valid for the 2022–2024 Code of Points

References

Citations

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61. "Nadia Comăneci, Bart Conner Have a Boy Archived September 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, People, June 6, 2006.
62. "Former Gymnasts Nadia Comăneci and Bart Conner Baptized Their First Child, Dylan Paul" Archived July 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Catalina Iancu, Jurnalul National, August 28, 2006.
63. "Olympic champion Nadia Comăneci to be featured July 4 speaker at Monticello". monticello.org. May 11, 2012. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
64. Amadon, Brett (October 4, 2017). "Nadia Comaneci honored with public space next to Montreal's Olympic Stadium". Excelle Sports. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
65. "Montreal Olympic Park unveils plaza honouring gymnast Nadia Comaneci". Montreal Gazette. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
66. "2004 Athens Games: Advertising". SFGate. August 12, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
67. Roenigk, Alyssa (August 17, 2008). "The First Family of Gymnastics". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
68. "London 2012 Olympics: The torch begins its journey across London". The Daily Telegraph. July 21, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
69. "Dominique Dawes Predicts How Many Golds for Simone Biles?". June 30, 2016.
70. "Olympic Gymnasts Simone Biles, Dominique Dawes, And Nadia Comaneci Partner In 'The Evolution of Power' Video". HuffPost. July 14, 2016.
71. "Rio 2016: Globosat's SporTV Captivates Olympic Fans in Brazil". Sports Video Group. September 2, 2016.
72. Honorary Consulates of Romania in the US Retrieved July 31, 2012.
73. "Nadia Comaneci, Global Ambassador". Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
74. "On Mats, Bars and Boards, Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci Lead by Example". Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
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103. Olaru, Stejărel (May 14, 2021). Book Reveals Nadia Comăneci's Ordeal in Ceaușescu's Romania. Epica Fiction & History. ISBN 9786069519707. Retrieved January 9, 2022.

Cited sources

• Comăneci, Nadia (2004). Letters to a Young Gymnast. The Art of Mentoring. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-01276-0.

Further reading

• Olaru, Stejarel (2023). Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police: A Cold War Escape. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1350321298.
• Comaneci, Nadia (2011). Letters to a Young Gymnast (reprint ed.). Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-4650-2505-3.

• Miklowitz, Gloria D. (1977). Nadia Comaneci. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 978-0-4481-2973-0.
• Temple, Cliff (1977). The Enchanting Story of Little Miss Perfect. Everest Books. ISBN 978-0-9050-1878-2.
• Comaneci, Nadia (1981). Nadia: The Autobiography of Nadia Comaneci. Proteus Books. ISBN 978-0-9060-7178-6.
• Woolum, Janet (1998). Outstanding Women Athletes: Who They Are and How They Influenced Sports In America (2nd ed.). Greenwood. ISBN 978-1-5735-6120-4.
• Weiniger, Peter (2001). Sporting Heroes. Thomson Learning. ISBN 978-1-8696-1476-8.
• Meyers, Dvora (2016). The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics' Top Score – from Nadia to Now. Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-5011-0136-6.

• Dimitriu, Dumitru (1976). Nadia Comăneci și echipa de aur. Sport-Turism. OL 4679678M.

External links

• Official website
• Nadia Comăneci at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Nadia Comăneci at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
• Nadia Comăneci at Olympics.com
• Nadia Comăneci at Olympedia (archive)
• Nadia Comăneci at IMDb 
• Voices of Oklahoma interview with Bart Conner. First person interview conducted on February 28, 2013, with Bart Conner, husband of Nadia Comăneci.

Video clips:

• Nadia Comăneci makes history at the Montreal 1976 Olympics – The Olympic Channel, 2010
• Nadia Comăneci – First Olympics Perfect 10 (Uneven Bars)- Montreal 1976 Olympics – The Olympic Channel, 2015
• Nadia Comăneci – Selections from all of her routines – Montreal 1976 Olympics (overview) – The Olympic Channel, 2012
• The Adorable Way This Olympic Couple First Met | Where Are They Now | Oprah Winfrey Network – Oprah Winfrey Network (U.S. TV channel), 2016
• Nadia Comaneci & Bart Conner Commentate on Their Perfect Olympic Routines | Take the Mic – The Olympic Channel, 2016
• Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, 11 Olympic Medals in this Olympic Family – The Olympic Channel, 2016

v t e Nadia Comăneci
Gymnastics	Comăneci salto Nadia's Theme Perfect 10 (gymnastics) Gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics Gymnastics at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Honors and awards	Associated Press Athlete of the Year (1976) United Press International Athlete of the Year Award (1975 and 1976) BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (1976) International Gymnastics Hall of Fame (1993) Flo Hyman Award (1998) Olympic Order (2004)
Related people	Bart Conner Paul Ziert Béla Károlyi Márta Károlyi

International championships for Nadia Comăneci

v t e Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's All-Around Summary 1952:  Maria Gorokhovskaya (URS) 1956:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1960:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1964:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1968:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1972:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1976:  Nadia Comăneci (ROU) 1980:  Yelena Davydova (URS) 1984:  Mary Lou Retton (USA) 1988:  Yelena Shushunova (URS) 1992:  Tatiana Gutsu (EUN) 1996:  Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) 2000:  Simona Amânar (ROU) 2004:  Carly Patterson (USA) 2008:  Nastia Liukin (USA) 2012:  Gabby Douglas (USA) 2016:  Simone Biles (USA) 2020:  Sunisa Lee (USA) 2024:  Simone Biles (USA) v t e Olympic champions in artistic gymnastics – Women's balance beam Summary 1952: Nina Bocharova 1956:  Ágnes Keleti (HUN) 1960:  Eva Bosáková (TCH) 1964:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1968:  Natalia Kuchinskaya (URS) 1972:  Olga Korbut (URS) 1976:  Nadia Comăneci (ROU) 1980:  Nadia Comăneci (ROU) 1984:  Ecaterina Szabo (ROU) 1984   Simona Păucă (ROU) 1988:  Daniela Silivaș (ROU) 1992:  Tatiana Lysenko (EUN) 1996:  Shannon Miller (USA) 2000:  Liu Xuan (CHN) 2004:  Cătălina Ponor (ROU) 2008:  Shawn Johnson (USA) 2012:  Deng Linlin (CHN) 2016:  Sanne Wevers (NED) 2020:  Guan Chenchen (CHN) 2024:  Alice D'Amato (ITA) v t e Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Floor Exercise Summary 1952:  Ágnes Keleti (HUN) 1956:  Ágnes Keleti (HUN) 1956  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1960:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1964  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1968:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1968  Larisa Petrik (URS) 1972:  Olga Korbut (URS) 1976:  Nellie Kim (URS) 1980:  Nadia Comăneci (ROU) 1980  Nellie Kim (URS) 1984:  Ecaterina Szabo (ROU) 1988:  Daniela Silivaș (ROU) 1992:  Lavinia Miloșovici (ROU) 1996:  Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) 2000:  Elena Zamolodchikova (RUS) 2004:  Cătălina Ponor (ROU) 2008:  Sandra Izbașa (ROU) 2012:  Aly Raisman (USA) 2016:  Simone Biles (USA) 2020:  Jade Carey (USA) 2024:  Rebeca Andrade (BRA) v t e Olympic Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Uneven Bars Summary 1952:  Margit Korondi (HUN) 1956:  Ágnes Keleti (HUN) 1960:  Polina Astakhova (URS) 1964:  Polina Astakhova (URS) 1968:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1972:  Karin Büttner-Janz (GDR) 1976:  Nadia Comăneci (ROU) 1980:  Maxi Gnauck (GDR) 1984:  Julianne McNamara (USA) 1984  Ma Yanhong (CHN) 1988:  Daniela Silivaș (ROU) 1992:  Lu Li (CHN) 1996:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2000:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2004:  Émilie Le Pennec (FRA) 2008:  He Kexin (CHN) 2012:  Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 2016:  Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 2020:  Nina Derwael (BEL) 2024:  Kaylia Nemour (ALG) v t e World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team Competition 1934:  Czechoslovakia 1938:  Czechoslovakia 1950:  Sweden 1954:  Soviet Union 1958:  Soviet Union 1962:  Soviet Union 1966:  Czechoslovakia 1970:  Soviet Union 1974:  Soviet Union 1978:  Soviet Union 1979:  Romania 1981:  Soviet Union 1983:  Soviet Union 1985:  Soviet Union 1987:  Romania 1989:  Soviet Union 1991:  Soviet Union 1994:  Romania 1995:  Romania 1997:  Romania 1999:  Romania 2001:  Romania 2003:  United States 2006:  China 2007:  United States 2010:  Russia 2011:  United States 2014:  United States 2015:  United States 2018:  United States 2019:  United States 2022:  United States 2023:  United States 1979:  Romania (ROM), Nadia Comăneci, Rodica Dunca, Emilia Eberle, Melita Ruhn, Dumitriţa Turner, Marilena Vlădărău v t e World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Balance Beam 1938:  Vlasta Děkanová (TCH) 1950:  Helena Rakoczy (POL) 1954:  Keiko Tanaka (JPN) 1958:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1962:  Eva Bosáková (TCH) 1966:  Natalia Kuchinskaya (URS) 1970:  Erika Zuchold (DDR) 1974:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1978:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1979:  Věra Černá (TCH) 1981:  Maxi Gnauck (DDR) 1983:  Olga Mostepanova (URS) 1985:  Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1987:  Aurelia Dobre (ROM) 1989:  Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1991:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1992:  Kim Zmeskal (USA) 1993:  Lavinia Miloșovici (ROM) 1994:  Shannon Miller (USA) 1995:  Mo Huilan (CHN) 1996:  Dina Kochetkova (RUS) 1997:  Gina Gogean (ROM) 1999:  Ling Jie (CHN) 2001:  Andreea Răducan (ROM) 2002:  Ashley Postell (USA) 2003:  Fan Ye (CHN) 2005:  Nastia Liukin (USA) 2006:  Iryna Krasnianska (UKR) 2007:  Nastia Liukin (USA) 2009:  Deng Linlin (CHN) 2010:  Ana Porgras (ROU) 2011:  Sui Lu (CHN) 2013:  Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 2014:  Simone Biles (USA) 2015:  Simone Biles (USA) 2017:  Pauline Schäfer (GER) 2018:  Liu Tingting (CHN) 2019:  Simone Biles (USA) 2021:  Urara Ashikawa (JPN) 2022:  Hazuki Watanabe (JPN) 2023:  Simone Biles (USA) v t e European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Individual All-Around 1957:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1959:  Natalia Kot (POL) 1961:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1963:  Mirjana Bilić (YUG) 1965:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1967:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1969:  Karin Büttner-Janz (GDR) 1971:  Tamara Lazakovich (URS) 1971   Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1973:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1975:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1977:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1979:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1981:  Maxi Gnauck (GDR) 1983:  Olga Bicherova (URS) 1985:  Yelena Shushunova (URS) 1987:  Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1989:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1990:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1992:  Tatiana Gutsu (CIS) 1994:  Gina Gogean (ROM) 1996:  Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) 1998:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2000:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2002:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2004:  Alina Kozich (UKR) 2005:  Marine Debauve (FRA) 2007:  Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) 2009:  Ksenia Semyonova (RUS) 2011:  Anna Dementyeva (RUS) 2013:  Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 2015:  Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 2017:  Ellie Downie (GBR) 2019:  Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA) 2021:  Viktoria Listunova (RUS) 2022:  Asia D'Amato (ITA) 2023:  Jessica Gadirova (GBR) 2024:  Manila Esposito (ITA) v t e European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Vault 1957:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1959:  Natalia Kot (POL) 1961:  Ute Starke (GDR) 1963:  Solveig Egman-Andersson (SWE) 1965:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1967:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1969:  Karin Büttner-Janz (GDR) 1971:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1973:  Angelika Hellmann (GDR) 1973   Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1975:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1977:  Nellie Kim (URS) 1979:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1981:  Cristina Elena Grigoraș (ROM) 1983:  Olga Bicherova (URS) 1985:  Yelena Shushunova (URS) 1987:  Yelena Shushunova (URS) 1989:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1990:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1992:  Tatiana Gutsu (CIS) 1994:  Lavinia Miloșovici (ROM) 1996:  Simona Amânar (ROM) 1998:  Adrienn Varga (HUN) 2000:  Simona Amânar (ROM) 2002:  Natalia Ziganshina (RUS) 2004:  Monica Roșu (ROM) 2005:  Francesca Benolli (ITA) 2006:  Anna Grudko (RUS) 2007:  Carlotta Giovannini (ITA) 2008:  Oksana Chusovitina (GER) 2009:  Ariella Käslin (SUI) 2010:  Ekaterina Kurbatova (RUS) 2011:  Sandra Izbașa (ROU) 2012:  Sandra Izbașa (ROU) 2013:  Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 2014:  Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 2015:  Maria Paseka (RUS) 2016:  Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 2017:  Coline Devillard (FRA) 2018:  Boglárka Dévai (HUN) 2019:  Maria Paseka (RUS) 2020:  Zsófia Kovács (HUN) 2021:  Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 2022:  Zsófia Kovács (HUN) 2023:  Coline Devillard (FRA) 2024:  Coline Devillard (FRA) v t e European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Uneven Bars 1957:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1959:  Polina Astakhova (URS) 1961:  Polina Astakhova (URS) 1963:  Thea Belmer (NED) 1965:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1967:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1969:  Karin Büttner-Janz (GDR) 1971:  Tamara Lazakovich (URS) 1973:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1975:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1977:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1977   Elena Mukhina (URS) 1979:  Elena Mukhina (URS) 1981:  Maxi Gnauck (GDR) 1983:  Ecaterina Szabo (ROM) 1985:  Maxi Gnauck (GDR) 1985   Yelena Shushunova (URS) 1987:  Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1989:  Henrietta Ónodi (HUN) 1990:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1990   Natalia Kalinina (URS) 1990   Mirela Pașca (ROM) 1992:  Tatiana Gutsu (CIS) 1994:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 1996:  Simona Amânar (ROM) 1996   Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 1996   Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) 1998:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2000:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2002:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2004:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2005:  Émilie Le Pennec (FRA) 2006:  Beth Tweddle (GBR) 2007:  Dariya Zgoba (UKR) 2008:  Ksenia Semyonova (RUS) 2009:  Beth Tweddle (GBR) 2010:  Beth Tweddle (GBR) 2011:  Beth Tweddle (GBR) 2012:  Viktoria Komova (RUS) 2013:  Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 2014:  Becky Downie (GBR) 2015:  Daria Spiridonova (RUS) 2016:  Becky Downie (GBR) 2017:  Nina Derwael (BEL) 2018:  Nina Derwael (BEL) 2019:  Anastasia Ilyankova (RUS) 2020:  Zsófia Kovács (HUN) 2021:  Angelina Melnikova (RUS) 2022:  Elisabeth Seitz (GER) 2023:  Alice D'Amato (ITA) 2024:  Alice D'Amato (ITA) v t e European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Balance Beam 1957:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1959:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1961:  Polina Astakhova (URS) 1963:  Ewa Rydell (SWE) 1965:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1967:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1969:  Karin Büttner-Janz (GDR) 1971:  Tamara Lazakovich (URS) 1973:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1975:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1977:  Elena Mukhina (URS) 1979:  Natalia Shaposhnikova (URS) 1981:  Maxi Gnauck (GDR) 1983:  Lavinia Agache (ROM) 1985:  Oksana Omelianchik (URS) 1987:  Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1989:  Olesya Dudnik (URS) 1989   Gabriela Potorac (ROM) 1990:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1992:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1994:  Gina Gogean (ROU) 1996:  Rozalia Galiyeva (RUS) 1998:  Yevgeniya Kuznetsova (RUS) 2000:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 2002:  Ludmila Ezhova (RUS) 2004:  Cătălina Ponor (ROM) 2005:  Cătălina Ponor (ROM) 2006:  Cătălina Ponor (ROU) 2007:  Yulia Lozhechko (RUS) 2008:  Ksenia Semyonova (RUS) 2009:  Yana Demyanchuk (UKR) 2010:  Amelia Racea (ROU) 2011:  Anna Dementyeva (RUS) 2012:  Cătălina Ponor (ROU) 2013:  Larisa Iordache (ROU) 2014:  Maria Kharenkova (RUS) 2015:  Andreea Munteanu (ROU) 2016:  Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 2017:  Cătălina Ponor (ROU) 2018:  Sanne Wevers (NED) 2019:  Alice Kinsella (GBR) 2020:  Larisa Iordache (ROU) 2021:  Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA) 2022:  Emma Malewski (GER) 2023:  Sanne Wevers (NED) 2024:  Manila Esposito (ITA) v t e European Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Floor Exercise 1957:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1959:  Polina Astakhova (URS) 1961:  Larisa Latynina (URS) 1963:  Mirjana Bilić (YUG) 1965:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1967:  Věra Čáslavská (TCH) 1969:  Olga Karasyova (URS) 1971:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1973:  Ludmilla Tourischeva (URS) 1975:  Nellie Kim (URS) 1977:  Maria Filatova (URS) 1977   Elena Mukhina (URS) 1979:  Nadia Comăneci (ROM) 1981:  Maxi Gnauck (GDR) 1983:  Olga Bicherova (URS) 1983   Ecaterina Szabo (ROM) 1985:  Yelena Shushunova (URS) 1987:  Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1989:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1989   Daniela Silivaș (ROM) 1990:  Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) 1992:  Gina Gogean (ROM) 1994:  Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) 1996:  Lavinia Miloșovici (ROM) 1996   Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR) 1998:  Svetlana Khorkina (RUS) 1998   Corina Ungureanu (ROM) 2000:  Ludivine Furnon (FRA) 2002:  Alona Kvasha (UKR) 2004:  Cătălina Ponor (ROM) 2005:  Isabelle Severino (FRA) 2006:  Sandra Izbașa (ROU) 2007:  Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) 2008:  Sandra Izbașa (ROU) 2009:  Beth Tweddle (GBR) 2010:  Beth Tweddle (GBR) 2011:  Sandra Izbașa (ROU) 2012:  Larisa Iordache (ROU) 2013:  Ksenia Afanasyeva (RUS) 2014:  Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) 2014   Larisa Iordache (ROU) 2015:  Ksenia Afanasyeva (RUS) 2016:  Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 2017:  Angelina Melnikova (RUS) 2018:  Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA) 2019:  Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA) 2020:  Larisa Iordache (ROU) 2021:  Jessica Gadirova (GBR) 2022:  Jessica Gadirova (GBR) 2023:  Jessica Gadirova (GBR) 2024:  Manila Esposito (ITA)

• 1961 births
• Living people
• Defectors to the United States
• Gymnasts at the 1976 Summer Olympics
• Gymnasts at the 1980 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• Olympic bronze medalists for Romania
• Olympic gold medalists for Romania
• Olympic silver medalists for Romania
• Olympic gymnasts for Romania
• Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics
• People from Onești
• People of the Cold War
• People with acquired American citizenship
• Recipients of the Olympic Order
• Romanian defectors
• Romanian emigrants to the United States
• Romanian female artistic gymnasts
• Romanian gymnastics coaches
• Special Olympics
• Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics
• World champion gymnasts
• BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners
• FISU World University Games gold medalists for Romania
• Olympic medalists in gymnastics
• The Apprentice contestants
• Participants in American reality television series
• Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade
• European champions in gymnastics
• Sportspeople from Bacău County