Olga korbut and nadia comaneci biography
•
It’ll Never Be the Same : Three Gold Medalists Reflect on Era That Changed Gymnastics
If they had been born in amerika, perhaps Nadia Comaneci and Olga Korbut would also have, as prized possessions, glass-encased Wheaties boxes bearing their likeness, as Mary Lou Retton has in her condominium. Surely, they would at least have condominiums.
But Comaneci grew up in Romania under the terrorist reign of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and was penniless when she escaped from her country three years ago, tramping through mud in darkness with only the clothes she was wearing, leaving behind her nine Olympic gold medals and about 150 other medals.
She feared that there would be repercussions against her family, and even here, in the United States, she feared for herself. It was months before the man who helped her escape could be tricked into setting her free. He held her hostage, Comaneci explained later, demanding money for appearances and telling her what to say at them.
Now at 30, Comane
•
The 1970s was the golden era of gymnastics. It was a decade in which Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) gained unprecedented popularity and produced two of the most iconic stars in the history of the Olympics. Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci are names that even the most casual of WAG fans will recognize. Their names are synonymous with the sport, but they are also so famous that many know only their names, but not much about the actual gymnast themselves. This article is going to breakdown the differences between Nadia and Korbut.
To start with the basics, Olga Korbut competed for the Soviet Union whereas Nadia competed for Romania. Romania and the Soviet Union would emerge as the two most iconic WAG programs of the Cold War and were also fierce rivals. Korbut and Nadia would be on opposite spectrums of one of the most epic Olympic rivalries of all time.
Olga Korbut competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Nadia competed at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. Their careers had only a bri
•
Nadia Comăneci
Romanian gymnast (born 1961)
Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner[a] (née Comăneci; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. 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 a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games.[5] 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 the 1980 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 four World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals.
One of the world's best-known gymnasts, Comăneci was praised for her artistry and grace,[6] which brought unprecedented global popularity to the sport in the mid-1970s.[6][7][8] Called "the most iconic gymnast of the 20th century" by El País,