In 1976 in Montreal, Romanian athlete Nadia Comaneci became the first gymnast in Olympic history to be awarded the perfect score of 10.0 for her performance on the uneven bars. She went on to record the perfect 10.0 six more times and became the youngest all-around Olympic gold medallist ever.
Nadia Elena Comaneci was born on November 12, 1961, in Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Romania, in the Carpathian Mountains, to parents Stefania-Alexandrina and Gheorghe, an auto mechanic. Comaneci was discovered at the age of 6 by gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi (later to become the Romanian national coach). She won the Romanian National Junior Championships, and, as a senior, won the European Championships in 1975 and the American Cup in 1976.
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.
Picture Credit : Google
