Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner^[a] (née Comăneci; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retiredgymnast. She is 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 aperfect score of 10.0 at theOlympic Games.^[4] 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 the1980 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 fourWorld Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals.

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[1]
Height	5 ft 3.5 in (1.61 m)[1]
Spouse	Bart Conner ​ (m. 1996)​
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Country represented	Romania (1970–1984 (ROU))
College team	Politehnica University of Bucharest
Gym	National Training Center
Formercoach(es)	Béla Károlyi Márta Károlyi
Choreographer	Géza Pozsár
Eponymous skills	Comăneci salto (uneven bars)
Retired	May 7, 1984 (official)
Medal record Representing Romania Women'sartistic 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

One of the world's best-known gymnasts, Comăneci was praised for her artistry and grace,^[5] which brought unprecedented global popularity to the sport in the mid-1970s.^[5][6][7] Called "the most iconic gymnast of the 20th century" byEl País,^[8] Comăneci was named one of the Athletes of the 20th century by theLaureus World Sports Academy.^[9] In August 2024, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted her as the best female gymnast of the past 100 years and the second best athlete of all sports afterSerena Williams.^[10][11]

Comăneci has lived in the United States since 1989, when she defected fromthen-Communist Romania, before itsrevolution in December that year. She later worked with and married American Olympic gold-medal gymnastBart Conner — a wedding which was held in Bucharest after the fall of the Communist regime and televised live in Romania.

Nadia Elena Comăneci was born on November 12, 1961, inOnești, a small town in theCarpathian Mountains, inBacău County,Romania, in the historical region ofWestern Moldavia.^[12] She was born to Gheorghe (1936–2012) and Ștefania Comăneci, and has a younger brother.^[13] Her parents separated in the 1970s and her father later moved toBucharest, the capital.^[14] She and her brother, Adrian, were raised in theRomanian Orthodox Church.^[15] 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.^[16] After years of top-level athletic competition, Comăneci graduated fromPolitehnica University of Bucharest with a degree insports education, which qualified her to coach gymnastics.^[17]

Nadia began gymnastics in kindergarten with a local team calledFlacără ("The Flame"), with coaches Duncan and Munteanu.^[18][19][20] At age 6, she was chosen to attendBéla Károlyi's experimental gymnastics school, after Károlyi spotted her and a friend turningcartwheels in a schoolyard.^[18][21] 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 topballerinas.^[22]

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.^[23]

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 andYugoslavia, winning her firstall-around title and contributing to the teamgold. For the next few years, she competed as a junior in numerous national contests in Romania and dual meets with countries such asHungary, Italy andPoland.^[24] At the age of 11, in 1973, she won the all-around gold, as well as thevault anduneven bars titles, at the Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important international meet for junior gymnasts.^[24][25]

Comăneci's first major international success came at the age of 13, when she nearly swept the board at the 1975European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships inSkien, Norway. She won the all-around and gold medals in every event but thefloor 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 theRomanian National Championships. In the pre-Olympic test event inMontreal Comăneci won the all-around and the balance beam golds as well assilvers in the vault, floor and bars. AccomplishedSoviet gymnastNellie Kim won the golds in those events and was one of Comăneci's greatest rivals for the next five years.^[24]

In March 1976, Comăneci competed in the inaugural edition of theAmerican Cup atMadison 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.^[26] During this competition, Comăneci met American gymnastBart 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.^[27] They both won a silver cup and were photographed together. A few months later, they participated in the1976 Summer Olympics that Comăneci dominated, while Conner was a marginal figure. Conner later said, "Nobody knew me, and [Comăneci] certainly didn't pay attention to me."^[28]

At Montreal [Comăneci] 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^[18]

On July 18, 1976, Comăneci made history at the Montreal Olympics. During the team compulsory portion of the competition, she was awarded the firstperfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics for her routine on theuneven bars.^[29][30][31]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.^[32] Comăneci's perfect 10 thus appeared as "1.00," the only means by which the judges could indicate that she had received a 10.^[31][33]

During the remainder of the Montreal Games, Comăneci earned six additional "10s". She won gold medals forthe individual all-around,the balance beam anduneven bars. She also won a bronze for thefloor exercise and a silver as part of theteam all-around.^[34]Soviet gymnastNellie Kim washer 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.^[35] Comăneci took over the media spotlight from gymnastOlga Korbut, who had been the darling of the 1972 Munich Games.^[36]

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.^[37] Unless the age of eligibility is lowered, Comăneci's record cannot be broken.

She was ranked as theBBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year for 1976^[38] and theAssociated Press' 1976 "Female Athlete of the Year".^[39] Back home in Romania, Comăneci was awarded theSickle and Hammer Gold Medal for her success,^[40] and she was named aHero of Socialist Labor. She was the youngest Romanian to receive such recognition during the administration ofNicolae Ceaușescu.^[19]

"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 filmBless the Beasts and Children and originally titled "Cotton's Dream". It was also used as the title theme music for the American soap operaThe Young and the Restless.

Robert Riger used it in association with slow-motion montages of Comăneci on the television programABC's Wide World Of Sports. The song became a top-10 single in the fall of 1976, and composersBarry De Vorzon andPerry Botkin Jr. renamed it as "Nadia's Theme" in Comăneci's honor.^[41] 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.^[18]

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.^[19][42]

Following the 1977 Europeans, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation removed Comăneci from her longtime coaches, the Károlyis, and sent her toBucharest 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.^[19][43] Comăneci competed in the1978 World Championships inStrasbourg four inches taller and according toWashington Post 22 pounds heavier than she was in the 1976 Olympics.^[44] A fall from the uneven bars resulted in a fourth-place finish in the all-around behind SovietsElena Mukhina,Nellie Kim, andNatalia Shaposhnikova. Comăneci did win the world title on beam, and a silver on vault.^[32]

After the 1978 "Worlds", Comăneci was permitted to return to Deva and the Károlyis' school.^[45] In 1979, Comăneci won her third consecutive European all-around title, becoming the first gymnast, male or female, to achieve this feat. At theWorld Championships inFort 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 anabscess.^[46][47][48]

Comăneci was chosen to participate in the1980 Summer Olympics inMoscow. As a result of theSoviet invasion of Afghanistan, PresidentJimmy Carter declared that the United States wouldboycott 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."^[49] She won two gold medals, one for thebalance beam and one for thefloor 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 forthe team all-around and one forindividual all-around. Controversies arose concerning the scoring in the all-around and floor exercise competitions.^[32] As of the2020 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.^[50]

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 coachesBéla andMárta 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."^[51]

The Károlyisdefected 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.^[52]

The government did allow Comăneci to participate in the1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as part of the Romanian delegation. Although a number of Communist nationsboycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in atit-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 gymnastMary 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.^[53]

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 theSecuritate secret police.^[8] 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 theInternational Olympic Committee.^[33]

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…. IfBéla 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.^[52]

On the night of November 27, 1989, a few weeks before theRomanian revolution, Comăneci defected with a group of other Romanians, crossing theHungary–Romania border aroundCenad. 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 throughHungary andAustria and finally were able to take a plane to the United States.^{[19][34][54][55]} She was settled briefly in South Florida, then in Los Angeles and then lived inMontreal, Canada for nearly a year.^[56][57]

Comăneci moved to Oklahoma in 1991 to help her friendBart Conner, another Olympic gold medalist, with his gymnastics school. She lived with the family ofPaul Ziert and eventually hired him as her manager.^[58] Comăneci and Conner were together for four years before they became engaged, marrying in 1996.^[59] She returned toRomania for their wedding, which was held inBucharest. This was after the fall of theCommunist regime and the establishment of a democratic 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.^[34][60] Comăneci became a naturalized US citizen in 2001 while retaining her Romanian citizenship.^[61] In 2006, the couple's son Dylan was born.^[62][63]

On May 18, 1997, Comăneci and Conner guest-starred on theseason 3 finale ofTouched by an Angel, titled "A Delicate Balance," where they performed a brief floor exercise within a montage scene.^[64]

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, withRebeca Andrade being a notable attendee in 2013 among others.^[65][66]

She was the featured speaker at the 50th annual Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony on July 4, 2012, atMonticello, the first athlete invited to speak in the history of the ceremony.^[67]

Comăneci is a famous 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 ofInternational Gymnast Magazine.^[68][69]

She is also still involved with the Olympic Games. During the2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, one of her perfect-10 Montreal uneven bars routines was featured in a commercial forAdidas.^[70] In addition, both Comăneci and her husbandBart Conner provided television commentary for the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[71] A few years later, on July 21, 2012, Comăneci, along with former basketball starJohn Amaechi, carried the Olympic torch to the roof of theO2 Arena as part of the torch relay for the2012 Summer Olympics in London.^[72] Prior to the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Comăneci appeared in a TIDE advertisement called "The Evolution of Power" withSimone Biles and three-time Olympic gymnastDominique Dawes.^[73][74] She also offered daily analysis of the 2016 games (along with other Olympic champions such asMark Spitz,Carl Lewis, and Conner), for the late-night showÉ Campeão, broadcast on Brazil'sSporTV.^[75] On July 26, 2024, she participated in theopening ceremony of the2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, alongside past Olympians Carl Lewis,Serena Williams, andRafael Nadal, carrying theOlympic flame in the final stages of thetorch relay up the riverSeine to theLouvre museum on its way to thelighting of the Olympic cauldron in theTuileries Garden.^[76]

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.^[33] In 2003, the Romanian government appointed her as an honorary consul general of Romania to the United States to deal with bilateralrelations between the two nations.^[77] In addition, both Comăneci and Conner are involved with theSpecial Olympics.^[78][79]

To raise money for charity, Comăneci participated in thecelebrity version ofDonald Trump's reality showThe 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,^[80] Comăneci later commented on her participation in the show, saying she "had great fun. I only did it because it was all for charity."^[81]

• 1975 and 1976: TheUnited Press International Athlete of the Year Award^[82]
• 1976:Hero of Socialist Labour^[83]
• 1976:Associated Press Athlete of the Year^[84]
• 1976:BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year^[38]
• 1983: The Olympic Order^[85]
• 1990:International Women's Sports Hall of Fame^[86]
• 1993:International Gymnastics Hall of Fame^[87]
• 1998:Marca Leyenda^[88]
• 1998:Flo Hyman Award^[89]
• 2004: TheOlympic Order^[90]
• 2016: Great Immigrant Honoree:Carnegie Corporation of New York^[91]
• 2017: She was recognized as one of theBBC's 100 Women of 2017.^[92]
• 2017: an area in theOlympic Park in Montreal was renamed "Place Nadia Comaneci".^[93][94]
• 2021:Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Officer^[95]

Comăneci was known for her clean technique, innovative and difficult original skills, and her stoic, cool demeanor in competition.^[18][96][97] On the balance beam, she was the first gymnast to successfully perform an aerial cartwheel-backhandspring series. She is also credited as being the first gymnast to perform a double-twistdismount.^[18][96] Her skills on the floor exercise included a tucked double backsalto and a double twist.^[96]

Comăneci has two eponymous uneven bars skills listed in theCode of Points, theComăneci salto and the Comăneci dismount.^[98]

^[99]

• Comăneci's 2004 memoir,Letters to a Young Gymnast, is part of theArt of Mentoring series by Basic Books.^[100][101]
• Katie Holmes directed a short 2015 documentary forESPN about Comăneci entitledEternal Princess that premiered at theTribeca Film Festival.^[102][103]
• In 2016,Arte France produced a Pola Rapaport documentary about Comăneci entitledNadia Comăneci, la gymnaste et le dictateur ("Nadia Comăneci: The Gymnast and the Dictator").^[104]
• In 1984, Comăneci was the subject of a biopic television film,Nadia.^[105] 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."^[105]
• In 2012,Universal Pictures chose Comăneci to dub Granny Norma in Romanian in the animated movieThe Lorax.^[106]
• In 2021, Stejărel Olaru published in Romanian a biographical volume,Nadia și Securitatea ("Nadia and the Securitate"), at Epica Publishing House.^[107]

• 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

• Olaru, Stejarel (2023).Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police: A Cold War Escape. Bloomsbury.ISBN 978-1350321298.online scholarly book review
• 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.

• Official website
• Nadia Comăneci at theInternational Gymnastics Federation 
• Nadia Comăneci at theInternational Gymnastics Hall of Fame 
• Nadia Comăneci atOlympics.com 
• Nadia Comăneci atOlympedia 
• Nadia Comăneci at theComitetul Olimpic și Sportiv Român(in Romanian) (archive)
• Nadia Comăneci atIMDb  
• 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