On top of winning 5 Olympic Gold Medals, she was the first gymnast ever to achieve a perfect score in a competition. Even with that sort of achievement, somehow the world seems to have forgotten about her but we want to tell you about her incredible story.
Humble Beginnings
Nadia Comăneci was born in 1961 in a small Romanian town called Onesti. When she was only 10 years old, her parents separated, and she stayed with her mother Ștefania. Growing up, she was always an energetic child.
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In an interview, Ștefania said Nadia was so hyperactive that she enrolled her into gymnastic classes just to tire her out. Nadia fell in love with the sport and used any chance she had to jump around and practice. This was when her mother realized Nadia's potential.
Life's Calling
When the gymnastics lessons first started, it was clear to Nadia that this would be her life’s calling. The difficult routines in gymnastics were almost natural to her, and she enjoyed doing them even in kindergarten.
Practising them only deepened her love for the sport, and she turned a simple child infatuation into a calling, which led to an amazing career. Many people go through life without knowing their true vocation, but Nadia knew hers the moment she did her first cartwheel.
Getting Her First Coach
One day Nadia and her friends were doing cartwheels alongside some other tricks in the schoolyard. As fate would have it, she was spotted by Béla Károlyi, a renowned gymnastics coach who enrolled her in his preparatory gymnastics school at the age of 6. This is where her career began.
Her passion for gymnastics and her natural ability to do elements with ease, coupled with Bela’s experience, cemented her destiny to go on to become one of the greatest in gymnastics history.
Hard Training
Bela pushed Nadia to train every day for 3 hours straight and sometimes even more. Fortunately, Nadia lived right next to Béla’s gymnastics school, so she didn’t have to travel a long way for practice. During her first amateur competition, Nadia faced a lot of trouble with landing after performing the elements.
But Béla never gave up on her and encouraged her to continue practising. Eventually, her landing improved drastically, and her form began to pick up. Nadia’s determination and Béla’s faith made her the gymnastics star she is today.
Going Pro
In 1969, Nadia participated in her first real competition - the Romanian National Junior Championship. She was only 7 years old at the time and was one of the youngest competitors there. Considering the strength, age, and maturity of other competitors, she fared pretty well and finished 13th.
Nevertheless, she considered this a failure and was disappointed with her performance. It motivated her to train even harder. The year after, she won her first competition easily claiming the first place with a spectacular performance. This was her first career achievement, and she was only 8 years old.
Senior Competitions
Nadia became eligible to compete with seniors when she turned 14 in 1975. This is where she shined, winning 5 medals at the European Championships and America Cup. People were able to see what she was capable of, but for Nadia, this was only the beginning.
She set her sights on the biggest prize of all - the 1976 Montreal Olympics. There was a sense of admiration among the public, and everyone was eagerly waiting for Nadia to show her full potential in one of the biggest competitions in the world.
