Comaneci, Nadia

Comaneci, Nadia (nädyä kōmänēch), 1961–, Romanian gymnast. Under the tutelage of coach Bela Karolyi, she rose to prominence in the celebrated Romanian gymnastics program. Comaneci was known for the boldness of her routines and her implacable composure. In the 1976 Olympics, she won six medals—three gold, two silver, and one bronze. She also scored a perfect 10 in two events, a score no one had previously achieved. In the 1980 Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals. The difficulty of her performances and the high level of her technical execution resulted in a redefinition of the sport and of judges' and viewers' expectations of women's gymnastics. She defected to the United States in 1989; in 1996 she married the American Bart Conner, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist. She and Conner have been pioneers in pairs gymnastics.

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Comaneci, Nadia

(born Nov. 12, 1961, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Rom.) Romanian-born gymnast. Comaneci entered her first international competition in 1972 and won three gold medals. In the 1976 Olympic Games, the first in which a perfect score of 10 was ever awarded in an Olympic gymnastic event, she received an astounding seven perfect scores and won the gold medals for the balance beam, uneven parallel bars, and all-around competitions. In the 1980 Olympics she won gold medals for the beam and the floor exercises. She retired from competition in 1984 and defected to the U.S. in 1989.