How 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci changed gymnastics forever
A legend at 14
In 1976, the Olympic Games lit up Montreal with world-class talent. Stars like Jim Montgomery, Kornelia Ender, and Guy Drut dominated headlines. But none captured the world’s imagination quite like a 14-year-old Romanian gymnast named Nadia Comăneci. With grace, precision, and a scoreboard-breaking routine, she changed gymnastics history forever.
The star of the 1976 Olympics
The Romanian prodigy would light up the Olympics with her talent and become the first woman to obtain a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic competition. Let's look back at the incredible Nadia Comăneci, the star of the 1976 Olympics!
Above the rest at 13
The 13-year-old Romanian made her senior debut after dominating junior competitions for nearly two years. At the European Championships, she won the all-around and all apparatus events – except the floor, where she finished second, according to Gymn Forum.
Nellie Kim, her biggest rival
Building on her momentum, the gymnast continued with victories in 1975. During the pre-Olympic tournament, she won the all-around but, for the first time, seemed threatened by a rival: the Soviet Nellie Kim, who was ahead of her in three disciplines – floor, the uneven bars, and the horse.
The favourite going in
As crazy as it may seem, the teenager arrived as the favorite at the Olympic Games. She was even voted Best Athlete of the Year in 1975 by the United Press International.
10 out of 10
From the start of 1976, the gymnast confirmed her status by achieving several 10s, notably during the first edition of the American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York, reports the New York Times.
Nadia Comăneci revolutionizes her sport
She arrived at the Montreal Olympics at the peak of her powers. She invented new tricks and performed them without downtime, and at breakneck speed – revolutionizing her sport at just 14 years old.
In a world of her own
In an interview with French newspaper L'Équipe in 2012, judge Carol Anne Letheren said that the Romanian's performance forced the judges to review their scoring system. The gymnast then performed two or three figures without stopping, while the others only performed one. So, if a gymnast got 9.60, Comăneci should get 11 or 12!
A record for eternity
The Romanian thus becomes the youngest Olympic champion in the history of her discipline. A status that should remain, as current regulations stipulates that competitors must be at least 16 years old during the year to participate in gymnastics at the Olympics.
A world star
The day after the competition, the young gymnast became a world star. She was voted Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press and United Press International. In Romania, she received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, becoming the youngest Romanian to have this recognition during the reign of Nicolae Ceaușescu.
1977 World Championships
The following year, she competed at the Worlds but fell in the all-around on the uneven bars, finishing only fourth behind her rival Nellie Kim. Comăneci still won the gold medal in the beam event.
1980 Olympics
In 1980, aged 18, Comăneci competed in her second Olympics and, although she finished second in the all-around behind Russian Yelena Davydova, she retained her Olympic beam title and shared the gold medal with Nellie Kim on the ground.
Sports retirement at 19
In 1981, at the age of 19, she decided to end her career, after six years as a professional. In 1984, she became a member of the International Olympic Committee, at just 23 years old.
