Nadia Comăneci facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nadia Comăneci
Comăneci in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Nadia Elena Comăneci
Nickname(s)	Nana
Country represented	Romania
Born	(1961-11-12) November 12, 1961 (age 64) Onești, Socialist Republic of Romania
Spouse	Bart Conner ​ (m. 1996)​
Height	5 ft 3.5 in (1.61 m)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	1970–1984
Gym	National Training Center
College team	Politehnica University of Bucharest
Former coach(es)	Béla Károlyi Márta Károlyi
Choreographer	Géza Pozsár
Eponymous skills	Comăneci salto (uneven bars)
Retired	May 7, 1984 (official)
Medal record Representing  Socialist Republic of 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 Olympic Games Gold 1976 Montréal All-Around Gold 1976 Montréal Uneven Bars Gold 1976 Montréal Balance Beam Gold 1980 Moscow Balance Beam Gold 1980 Moscow Floor Exercise Silver 1976 Montréal Team Silver 1980 Moscow Team Silver 1980 Moscow All-Around Bronze 1976 Montréal Floor Exercise World Championships Gold 1978 Strasbourg Balance Beam Gold 1979 Ft. Worth Team Silver 1978 Strasbourg Team Silver 1978 Strasbourg Vault World Cup Final Gold 1979 Tokyo Vault Gold 1979 Tokyo Floor Exercise Silver 1979 Tokyo Balance Beam European Championships Gold 1975 Skien All-Around Gold 1975 Skien Uneven Bars Gold 1975 Skien Balance Beam Gold 1975 Skien Vault Gold 1977 Prague All-Around Gold 1977 Prague Uneven Bars Gold 1979 Copenhagen All-Around Gold 1979 Copenhagen Vault Gold 1979 Copenhagen Floor Exercise Silver 1975 Skien Floor Exercise Silver 1977 Prague Vault Bronze 1979 Copenhagen Balance Beam Summer Universiade Gold 1981 Bucharest Team Gold 1981 Bucharest All-Around Gold 1981 Bucharest Uneven Bars Gold 1981 Bucharest Vault Gold 1981 Bucharest Floor Exercise

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a famous retired Romanian gymnast. She won five Olympic gold medals, all in individual events. In 1976, at just 14 years old, Nadia made history. She was the first gymnast ever to score a perfect 10.0 at the Olympic Games. This amazing feat happened at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. She earned six more perfect 10s at those Games. She also won three gold medals there. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Nadia won two more gold medals. She also achieved two more perfect 10s. Throughout her career, Nadia won nine Olympic medals. She also earned four World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals.

Nadia Comăneci is one of the most famous gymnasts in the world. People admired her artistic style and grace. She made gymnastics very popular globally in the 1970s. El País newspaper called her "the most iconic gymnast of the 20th century." The Laureus World Sports Academy named her one of the Athletes of the 20th century. In 2024, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted her the best female gymnast of the past 100 years. They also named her the second-best female athlete across all sports.

Nadia has lived in the United States since 1989. She moved from Romania before a big change happened in her home country. Later, Nadia worked with and married American Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner. Their wedding was in Bucharest after the political changes. It was even shown live on TV in Romania.

Early Life and First Steps in Gymnastics

Onești, Nadia Comăneci's hometown in Romania

Nadia Elena Comăneci was born on November 12, 1961. Her hometown was Onești, a small town in Romania. It is located in the Carpathian Mountains. Her parents were Gheorghe and Ștefania Comăneci. She also has a younger brother named Adrian. Her parents separated in the 1970s. Her father later moved to Bucharest, the capital city. Nadia and Adrian grew up in the Romanian Orthodox Church. In 2011, her mother shared why Nadia started gymnastics. She said Nadia was a very energetic and active child. Gymnastics helped her channel all that energy. After many years of competing, Nadia went to Politehnica University of Bucharest. She earned a degree in sports education. This degree allowed her to become a gymnastics coach.

Early Gymnastics Career

Nadia Comăneci during the European Championships in 1975

Nadia started gymnastics in kindergarten. She joined a local team called Flacără ("The Flame"). Her first coaches were Duncan and Munteanu. When she was six, Béla Károlyi saw her doing cartwheels. She was in a schoolyard with a friend. Károlyi was looking for young gymnasts to train. He found Nadia and invited her to his special gymnastics school.

By 1968, Nadia was seven years old. She began training with Béla Károlyi. She was one of the first students at his new school. Károlyi and his wife, Márta Károlyi, opened the school in Onești. Since Nadia lived in Onești, she could stay at home. Most other students lived at the school.

In 1970, Nadia started competing for her hometown team. At age nine, she became the youngest to win the Romanian Nationals. The next year, she competed internationally for the first time. It was a junior meet between Romania and Yugoslavia. She won her first all-around title. Her team also won a gold medal. For several years, Nadia competed as a junior. She participated in many national and international meets. In 1973, at age 11, she won the all-around gold. She also won vault and uneven bars titles. This was at the Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba). This was an important international competition for young gymnasts.

Nadia's first big international success came at age 13. She almost won every event at the 1975 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Skien, Norway. Nadia won the all-around title. She also won gold medals in every event but the floor exercise. She finished second in that event. She continued to win that year. She won the all-around at the 'Champions All' competition. She also won the all-around, vault, beam, and bars at the Romanian National Championships. Before the Olympics, she competed in a test event in Montreal. Nadia won gold in the all-around and balance beam. She also earned silver medals in vault, floor, and bars. Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim was a strong rival. Kim won gold in those events. She and Nadia competed against each other for the next five years.

Monument dedicated to the Onești gymnastics school champions, including Comăneci

The Road to Olympic Stardom

American Cup Triumph

In March 1976, Nadia competed in the first American Cup. It was held at Madison Square Garden in New York. She earned rare perfect scores of 10. She got a 10 for her vault in the first round. She also got a 10 for her floor exercise in the final. She won the all-around competition. At this event, Nadia met American gymnast Bart Conner. He was celebrating his 18th birthday. Nadia was 14. They both won silver cups and took a photo together. Bart remembered this meeting well. Nadia later said she had to be reminded of it. Bart Conner later said, "Nobody knew me, and [Comăneci] certainly didn't pay attention to me."

Making History at the 1976 Montreal Olympics

Nadia Comăneci on the balance beam at the 1976 Olympics

On July 18, 1976, Nadia made history at the Montreal Olympics. She was competing in the team compulsory event. She performed her routine on the uneven bars. The judges awarded her the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics. The scoreboard company, Omega SA, did not expect a perfect 10. They had not programmed the scoreboard to show "10.00". So, Nadia's perfect score appeared as "1.00". This was the only way judges could show she got a 10.

Nadia Comăneci at the 1976 Olympics

During the rest of the Montreal Games, Nadia earned six more perfect 10s. She won gold medals for the individual all-around. She also won gold for the balance beam and uneven bars. Nadia also won a bronze medal for the floor exercise. Her team won a silver medal in the team all-around. Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim was her main competitor. Kim also earned a perfect 10 for her vault performance. Nadia became a huge media star. She took over the spotlight from Olga Korbut, who was famous from the 1972 Games.

Nadia was the first Romanian gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title. She is also the youngest Olympic gymnastics all-around champion ever. She was 14 years old. Today, gymnasts must be at least 16 to compete in the Olympics. This means Nadia's record as the youngest champion cannot be broken.

Nadia received many honors in 1976. She was named the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. The Associated Press named her the 1976 "Female Athlete of the Year". In Romania, she received the Sickle and Hammer Gold Medal. She was also named a Hero of Socialist Labor. She was the youngest Romanian to get such awards.

"Nadia's Theme": A Song for a Star

"Nadia's Theme" is a famous instrumental song. It became linked to Nadia after the 1976 Olympics. The song was originally from a 1971 movie. It was called "Cotton's Dream." It was also used for the TV show The Young and the Restless.

A TV producer named Robert Riger used the song. He played it with slow-motion videos of Nadia. This was on the show ABC's Wide World Of Sports. The song became very popular in 1976. The composers, Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr., renamed it "Nadia's Theme." This was to honor Nadia. However, Nadia never actually performed her routines to "Nadia's Theme." Her floor music was a mix of "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump in the Line". It was arranged for piano.

Continuing Her Gymnastics Journey

Challenges and Triumphs (1977-1979)

Nadia successfully defended her European all-around title in 1977. There were some questions about the scoring at that competition. The leader of Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu, ordered the Romanian gymnasts to go home. The team left the competition during the event finals.

After the 1977 European Championships, Nadia's coaches changed. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation moved her from the Károlyis. She was sent to Bucharest to train at a sports complex. Nadia did not like this change. She was also growing up and her body was changing. This made gymnastics harder for her. She felt very unhappy with these changes.

Nadia competed in the 1978 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Strasbourg. She was taller and heavier than at the 1976 Olympics. She fell from the uneven bars. This led to a fourth-place finish in the all-around. Soviet gymnasts Elena Mukhina, Nellie Kim, and Natalia Shaposhnikova placed higher. But Nadia did win the world title on the balance beam. She also won a silver medal on vault.

After the 1978 World Championships, Nadia could return to Deva and the Károlyis' school. In 1979, Nadia won her third European all-around title in a row. She was the first gymnast, male or female, to do this. At the World Championships in Fort Worth that December, Nadia was leading. This was after the compulsory routines. But she had to go to the hospital. She had blood poisoning from a cut on her wrist. It was from her metal grip buckle. Against doctors' advice, she left the hospital. She competed on the balance beam. She scored a 9.95. Her performance helped Romania win their first team gold medal. After this, Nadia spent several days recovering. She had a small surgery for the infection.

The 1980 Moscow Olympics

Nadia Comăneci in Moscow in 1980

Nadia was chosen for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The United States and some other countries boycotted these Olympics. This was due to political reasons. Nadia wrote in her memoir that the Romanian government saw these as "the first all-Communist Games." But she also noted, "in Moscow, we walked into the mouth of a lion's den; it was the Russians' home turf." She fell during the uneven bars in the team competition. She scored only 9.50. But later, she earned two more perfect 10s. One was on the balance beam, and another on uneven bars. She won two gold medals. One was for the balance beam. The other was for the floor exercise. She tied with Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim in the floor exercise. She also won two silver medals. One was for the team all-around. The other was for individual all-around. There were some disagreements about the scoring in these events. As of the 2020 Summer Games, Nadia is the only gymnast to win Olympic gold on the balance beam twice.

Her coach, Bela Károlyi, protested the scoring. He felt Nadia was scored unfairly. His protests were shown on television. Nadia wrote that the Romanian government was unhappy with Károlyi's public actions. They felt he had embarrassed them. Life became very difficult for Károlyi after that.

Life After Competition

Nadia Comăneci on the balance beam, 1980

In 1981, Nadia was asked to join an official tour of the United States. It was called "Nadia '81." Her coaches, Béla and Márta Károlyi, led the group. During this tour, Nadia's team traveled with American gymnasts. This was the third time she met Bart Conner. She remembered thinking, "Conner was cute. He bounced around the bus talking to everyone—he was incredibly friendly and fun."

On the last day of the tour, the Károlyis left Romania. They stayed in the United States. The Romanian team choreographer, Géza Pozsár, also left. Before leaving, Károlyi had hinted to Nadia about his plans. He indirectly asked if she wanted to join him. At that time, she wanted to go home to Romania. After the Károlyis left, Nadia's life in Romania changed a lot. Officials worried that she might also leave. They watched her very closely. They did not let her travel outside the country.

The government did allow Nadia to attend the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Romania chose to participate, even though some other countries boycotted. Nadia did not compete. She was an observer. She saw Károlyi's new student, American gymnast Mary Lou Retton. Retton won five medals, including a gold. The Romanian officials did not let Nadia talk to Károlyi. They watched her closely the whole time.

Nadia had thought about retiring earlier. Her official retirement ceremony was in Bucharest in 1984. The chairman of the International Olympic Committee attended.

Nadia later wrote about this time: "Life became very difficult. I could no longer earn extra money for my family. It was also unfair that normal people could travel, but I could not. When my gymnastics career ended, there was no need to keep me happy. I had to do as I was told, just like my whole life. If Béla hadn't left, I would still have been watched. But his leaving brought a bright spotlight on my life. I started to feel like a prisoner."

A 2016 Romanian postage stamp showing Comăneci on the balance beam at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal

Personal Life and Family

Nadia Comăneci and her husband Bart Conner meeting First Lady Michelle Obama, 2009

On November 27, 1989, Nadia left Romania. This was a few weeks before big changes happened in the country. She crossed the border with a group of other Romanians. They were guided by Constantin Panait. Their journey was mostly on foot and at night. They traveled through Hungary and Austria. Then they flew to the United States. She lived briefly in South Florida, then Los Angeles. Later, she lived in Montreal, Canada, for almost two years.

In 1991, Nadia moved to Oklahoma. She went to help her friend Bart Conner, another Olympic gold medalist. He had a gymnastics school there. She lived with the family of Paul Ziert and later hired him as her manager. Nadia and Bart were together for four years before they got engaged. They married in 1996. She returned to Romania for their wedding, which was held in Bucharest. This was after the political changes in Romania. The government welcomed her as a national hero. The wedding was televised live in Romania. The couple's reception was held in the former presidential palace. Nadia became a US citizen in 2001. She also kept her Romanian citizenship. In 2006, the couple's son was born.

On May 18, 1997, Nadia and Bart appeared on the TV show Touched by an Angel. They performed a short floor exercise in a scene.

Since 1994, the Nadia Comăneci International Invitational has welcomed gymnasts. It includes gymnasts from different skill levels. The competition also hosted international elite gymnasts in the mid-2010s. Rebeca Andrade was a notable participant in 2013.

Nadia was the main speaker at the 50th annual Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony. This was on July 4, 2012, at Monticello. She was the first athlete ever invited to speak at this ceremony.

Inspiring Others: Nadia's Leadership Roles

Nadia Comăneci at the BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy, April 2012

Nadia Comăneci is a very famous person in gymnastics. She is the honorary president of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. She is also the honorary president of the Romanian Olympic Committee. She serves as Romania's sports ambassador. She is also a member of the International Gymnastics Federation Foundation. She and Bart Conner own the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy. They also own the Perfect 10 Production Company and several sports equipment shops. They are the editors of International Gymnast magazine.

She is still involved with the Olympic Games. During the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, one of her perfect-10 routines was shown. It was in a commercial for Adidas. Also, Nadia and her husband Bart Conner provided TV commentary. This was for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. A few years later, on July 21, 2012, Nadia carried the Olympic torch. She carried it to the roof of the O2 Arena. This was part of the torch relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Before the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Nadia appeared in a TIDE advertisement. It was called "The Evolution of Power." She was with Simone Biles and Dominique Dawes. She also gave daily analysis of the 2016 games. This was for the show É Campeão in Brazil. On July 26, 2024, she participated in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She carried the Olympic flame with other Olympians. These included Carl Lewis, Serena Williams, and Rafael Nadal.

Nadia is also very involved in raising money for charities. She personally paid for the Nadia Comăneci Children's Clinic in Bucharest. This clinic provides affordable medical and social support to Romanian children. In 2003, the Romanian government made her an honorary consul general of Romania to the United States. This role helps with relations between the two nations. Also, Nadia and Bart Conner are involved with the Special Olympics.

To raise money for charity, Nadia participated in a celebrity TV show. It was Donald Trump's reality show The Apprentice. Nadia was on "The Empresario" team (all women). Her team lost to "The Hydra" team (all men) in the second episode. Trump then fired Nadia from the show. Nadia later said about her participation, "I had great fun. I only did it because it was all for charity."

Honors and Special Awards

Nadia Comăneci in Montreal. Stamp of Romania, 1976

• 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
• 1984: The Olympic Order (bronze)
• 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 (silver)
• 2016: Great Immigrant Honoree: Carnegie Corporation of New York
• 2017: She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2017.
• 2017: an area in the Olympic Park in Montreal was renamed "Place Nadia Comaneci".
• 2021: Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Officer

Nadia's Signature Gymnastics Skills

Nadia Comăneci was known for her perfect technique. She also created new and difficult skills. She was always calm and focused during competitions. On the balance beam, she was the first gymnast to do an aerial cartwheel-back handspring series. She is also known for being the first to perform a double-twist dismount. Her skills on the floor exercise included a tucked double back salto and a double twist.

Nadia has two uneven bars skills named after her. They are listed in the Code of Points. These are the Comăneci salto and the Comăneci dismount.

Images for kids

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  Nadia Comăneci wearing her medals in 1976

See also

In Spanish: Nadia Comăneci para niños

• 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