Nadia Comaneci
Those who attended the Montreal Games can hardly forget the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, whose appearances and performances made her the star of the Games. This athlete's name is still considered a legend in the history of gymnastics and of the Olympics in general.
Comaneci was born in December 1961 in Georgiou Dez, in Romania. Her eminent presence in gymnastics is associated with the systematic cultivation of mass sport and championship in the countries of East Europe since the 1960s. She started training from a very early age integrated into programmes of school sport. As early as from the age of seven she had been singled out for her talent. As a result, she joined special intensive preparation programmes. The optimization of her natural abilities and talent bore fruit very soon. Within a period of five years, she was a champion beating all of her opponents in every national organization. Her reputation began to spread throughout Europe due to her participation in European championships, where she won several gold medals.
Her renown became worldwide through her participation in the Montreal Olympics. Her appearances and the technique she used in her exercises made many people speak of a new era in gymnastics. Fourteen-year-old Nadia Comaneci was awarded six times the perfect score of 10, something which no other female athlete in the history of the Olympics had ever accomplished. Those who watched her programme will never forget her performance, especially in the uneven bars and the beam, which amazed even the judges, who in their majority characterized her technique as perfect. Her medal total in the 1976 Olympics was three golds, one silver and one bronze.
Comaneci's athletic career continued successfully over the following years. Despite the fact that she had grown taller and heavier, she managed to win a gold medal and two silvers in the world championship of 1978, whereas in the Moscow Olympics she won two golds and two silvers.

 

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