Nadia Comaneci was celebrated, on Friday evening, during a special gala organized at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, 50 years after the first 10 in the history of Olympic gymnastics, obtained at the Montreal Games.
The multiple Olympic, world and European champion was applauded on the open stage for her achievements as an athlete, but also for her work in promoting gymnastics. With her 7 out of 10 scores in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci, then a 14-year-old girl, transformed artistic gymnastics into a global phenomenon, inspiring entire generations of children to practice this sport.
Big names in world sports, former champions, friends and teammates came to join the one who delighted the world half a century ago. Among them were the honorary president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, the president of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), Spyros Capralos, the president of the International Gymnastics Federation, Morinari Watanabe, but also Gheorghe Hagi, Ilie Nastase, Simona Halep, Razvan Lucescu, presidents of federations, officials and politicians.
Marta Karolyi, former coach of Nadia Comaneci, was present at the Nadia Gala, along with former teammates Teodora Ungureanu, Emilia Eberle, Dumitriţa Turner and Marilena Vladarau. Marta Karolyi received the "Golden Collar" of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, the distinction being presented to her by Nadia Comaneci herself and by the president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, Mihai Covaliu.
"I am very excited, it is a special day. All my life I have been searching for perfection and this was achieved in 1976, in Montreal, when Nadia achieved the historic 10. Very few people know that behind such a result there is an enormous amount of work. That is why I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the girls, the gymnasts, who made extraordinary efforts to achieve those results," declared Marta Karolyi.
Nellie Kim, Nadia's main rival in the gym, the one who won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 1976 Olympics, came to the Palace of Parliament.
"Something happened in Montreal that had never happened before. Nadia got a 10, she was sensational then. Not everyone can achieve excellence, but she did it. Her exercise was perfect and I still don't know who else can repeat it. And today we celebrate that fantastic day in Montreal," said Kim.
Romanian gymnastics was represented by numerous Olympic, world and European champions, who continued the path started by Nadia Comaneci in 1976. Ecaterina Szabo, Lavinia Agache, Mihaela Stanulet, Olympic champions in Los Angeles 1984, the triple Olympic champion in Seoul, Daniela Silivas, the first absolute world champion in Romanian gymnastics, Aurelia Dobre, but also Cristina Bontas, Gina Gogean, Mirela Pasca, Maria Neculită, Simona Amânar, Andreea Răducan, Maria Olaru, Claudia Presecan, Loredana Boboc, Cătălina Ponor, Monica Rosu, Silvia Stroescu, Daniela Sofronie, Sandra Izbasa, Larisa Iordache and Diana Bulimar, who for years in a row held the Romanian flag in the first places at international competitions, were with Nadia Comaneci on this truly special evening.
The show in the Unity Hall of the Palace of Parliament included special moments centered around children, such as the singing of the Romanian Anthem and the Olympic Anthem, floor exercises, beam, parallel bars, and dances by the athletes from the Dinamo club.
Nadia Comaneci, who was joined this evening by her husband, Bart Connor, her mother Stefania Alexandrina and her brother Adrian, was visibly emotional when she received the "Perfection Award" from the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.
"Thank you Romania, thank you to everyone who has been with me for these 50 years. And thank you to that little girl from Onesti for having the courage to dream. Although, when I was a child, I didn't dream of perfection, I only dreamed of being better than yesterday. And the lesson I learned is that perfection doesn't mean never making mistakes... but having the courage to continue, to believe and to move forward. This evening is about everyone who has laid a brick on my path. About the coaches who saw something in that shy child from Onesti. About my teammates with whom I shared emotions, sacrifices, victories and childhood," she said.
"It's a big celebration because in this hall there are all the girls from the last 50 years together. It's something unique, a historic moment, 50 years of Romanian gymnastics history. Who would have thought that Nellie Kim and I would be friends, so that's what sports do. I don't think there's anything else that brings so many people together," added the Montreal champion.
Nadia Comaneci gave a special thank you to her husband, Bart Conner: "I want to give a very special thank you to my husband, Bart. Who I met three months before the Montreal Olympics, yes, I know, I was only 14 years old, when I competed in the America's Cup. It happened to be his birthday, and someone from a newspaper said: 'She's a pretty girl, don't you want to give her a kiss on the cheek?'... and that picture went down in history. Who would have thought that we could become husband and wife after so many years. I know I ran too fast and you couldn't catch me until 20 or so years later, but I'm glad that gymnastics brought us together. And I have no words to thank you for what you do for me, for our family, for gymnastics."
The President of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, Mihai Covaliu, claimed in his speech that 50 years ago Nadia Comaneci did not just get a 10, but redefined perfection.
"Nadia is a planetary athlete. And we have athletes here tonight who have won hundreds of medals together. But 50 years ago, a little girl from Romania, who was not even 15 years old, did something incredible. She demonstrated that the impossible is possible. And not only did she get the first 10 in the history of gymnastics, she did much more. She redefined perfection. Nadia did not just exceed the limits, she rewrote them. Today, after 50 years, when we say Romania in world sports, we say Nadia. That is why, tonight we celebrate perfection and offer her the Perfection Trophy - Nadia 50", Covaliu specified.
The State Counselor at the Presidential Administration, Cristian Roşu, conveyed during the event a message from President Nicuşor Dan: "Montreal 1976 represents for our society more than a sporting moment, it represents a landmark of excellence when a Romanian demonstrated to the entire world that through discipline, strength of character and talent, doubled by sustained work, international performance can be achieved. What remains after this success is the power of example, the strength of a destiny built through courage, trust and rigor. What remains is the image of a sportswoman who showed that excellence is not accidental, but is due to an inner power and a training school that must be cherished. Nadia Comaneci became a symbol not only through her remarkable results, but because she continued to inspire generations. The Year of Nadia "Comaneci offers us the opportunity to look at performance not only as a memory of a victory, but also as a responsibility. Today we honor a great champion, an unwavering character and a name that will remain for Romania a symbol of performance at the highest level."
The evening was concluded by Loredana Groza, the artist including in her recital the song "Trandafir de la Moldova", specially dedicated to Nadia Comaneci. In fact, the Montreal champion took the stage where she sang and danced alongside Loredana Groza.
At the age of 14, Nadia Comaneci became the most famous gymnast in history after, on July 18, 1976, she amazed the sports world by obtaining the first score of 10 at an edition of the Olympic Games, in conditions in which not even the electronic scoreboard was prepared for such a performance, indicating 1. The Romanian athlete also obtained the perfect score seven times at the Montreal Olympic Games, winning three gold medals (in the all-around, beam and parallel bars), one silver medal (in the team) and one bronze medal (on the floor).
Born on November 12, 1961, in One?ti, Nadia Comaneci won 9 medals in her career at the Olympic Games (5 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze), 4 at the World Championships (2 gold and 2 silver), 12 at the European Championships (9 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze) and 5 at the Universiade (5 gold). In November 1989, just one month before the fall of communism, she illegally crossed the border and settled in the United States of America. There she married American Bart Conner, himself a multiple Olympic and world champion in artistic gymnastics, and together they have a son, Dylan Paul Conner.
She owns a gymnastics academy in Oklahoma City with Bart Conner and several sports equipment stores, and in recent years has been involved in several charitable actions through the Nadia Comaneci Foundation. The former gymnast has twice received the Olympic Order from the IOC and was included in the International Gymnastics Federation Hall of Fame. She is also a global ambassador for Special Olympics and is among the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
