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17.11.2017 Nadia Comaneci - Gymnast, Athlete - Biography.

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Nadia Comaneci
Gymnast, Athlete (1961)
Nadia Comaneci is a Romanian gymnast who became the
rst woman to score a perfect 10 in an Olympic
gymnastics event in 1976, at age 14.

NAME Synopsis
Nadia Comaneci
Born in 1961, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the rst woman to score
OCCUPATION a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastics event at the 1976 Olympic Games, at age 14.
Gymnast, Athlete Her performance at the 1976 Olympics rede ned both her sport and audiences'
BIRTH DATE
expectations of female athletes. At the 1980 Olympics, Comaneci won gold medals
for the balance beam and oor exercise. She retired from competition in 1984 and
November 12,
defected to the United States in 1989.
1961 (age 56)
DID YOU KNOW?
Nadia Comaneci
Early Life and Career
is the rst
woman to score a Nadia Elena Comaneci was born on November 12, 1961, in Gheorghe Gheorghiu-
perfect 10 in an Dej, Romania, in the Carpathian Mountains, to parents Stefania-Alexandrina and
Olympic Gheorghe, an auto mechanic. Comaneci was discovered at the age of 6 by
gymnastics event. gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi (later to become the Romanian national coach). She
won the Romanian National Junior Championships, and, as a senior, won the
DID YOU KNOW? European Championships in 1975 and the American Cup in 1976.
The scoreboards
at the 1976 1976 Olympic Games
Olympics were
not designed to Comaneci thrilled the world at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada,
display a 10, thus where, at the age of 14, she became the rst woman to score a perfect 10 in an
Olympic gymnastics event. She received seven perfect scores and won three gold
Nadia Comaneci's
medalsfor the uneven bars, balance beam and individual all-aroundand
score read as a bronze medal for her oor exercise. As part of the second-place Romanian
"1.0." national team, she won silver. Comaneci's performance at the 1976 Olympics
DID YOU KNOW? rede ned both her sport and audiences' expectations of female athletes.
Nadia Comaneci
weighed only 86 1980 Olympics and Later Years
pounds at the At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Russia, Nadia Comaneci won two gold, for
time of the 1976 the balance beam and oor exercise (in which she tied with Soviet gymnast Nellie
Olympics. Kim); and two silver medals, for the team competition and individual all-around.
DID YOU KNOW? (After coaching the Romanian national team through two Olympiads, Bela Karolyi
defected to the United States in 1981. He later led the nation's gymnastic program
For her oor
to its rst World Championships.)
exercises, Nadia
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17.11.2017 Nadia Comaneci - Gymnast, Athlete - Biography.com

Comaneci used
the theme from
the soap opera
The Young and
the Restless.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1976, Nadia
Comaneci owned
more than 200
dolls, and
traveled with an
Eskimo doll for
good luck.
PLACE OF BIRTH
Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej,
Romania
FULL NAME
Nadia Elena
Comaneci
ZODIAC SIGN
Scorpio

"The I dont want to say older, but the more experienced I get, I treasure and I honor what Ive done much more. You know what I
mean? It becomes much more important, and I appreciate it because I understand from a different view what it takes to do that." -
Nadia Comaneci, USA Today, 2016

Comaneci retired from competition in 1984 and worked as a coach for the Romanian team before defecting
to the United States via Hungary in 1989. After appearing in a series of provocative underwear
advertisements, she married American gymnast Bart Conner in 1996 and moved to Norman, Oklahoma.

In 1999, Comaneci received a World Sports Award of the Century after being elected "Athlete of the Century"
during a gala in Vienna, Austria.

Comaneci currently does television commentary, writes for gymnastic publications, and travels the world
promoting the sport.

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17.11.2017 Nadia Comaneci - Gymnast, Athlete - Biography.com

Article Title
Nadia Comaneci Biography.com
Author
Biography.com Editors
Website Name
The Biography.com website
URL
https://www.biography.com/people/nadia-comaneci-9254240
Access Date
November 17, 2017
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
November 1, 2016
Original Published Date
n/a

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