Nadia Comaneci

During my life I have had and have many kinds of heroes. Some of them are great artists and architects. Some are Christian leaders. I admire some folks in the performing arts. Others that I look up to are in the sciences and space exploration, especially those who have made a positive difference in helping mankind. Many heroes are humanitarians and philanthropists. Some of my heroes are in the sports world. Certainly my heroes are found in my family: my dear Mama and Daddy, my dear Mom, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. On this page I will talk about one of my heroes, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci.

Nadia Comaneci is a hero not only for her gymnastics talent and accomplishments but because she took great risk to create a new life of freedom in America for herself. Since coming to this country, she married, had a family, and continues to spread her passion for gymnastics.

My Olympic Hero

Since the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci has been one of my heroes. Back then her “hero” status in my eyes was based on her athletic prowess. She was an adorable 14-year-old girl from Romania who astounded the whole world (and especially the gymnastics world) by earning the first perfect score of “10” in Olympic gymnastics. In fact, she scored 7 of them in those Olympic games on the uneven parallel bars and the balance beam. When she scored her “10’s” the electronic scoreboards were not set up to display 2 digits to the left of the decimal point — instead only 1 digit. Thus her “10” showed up on the scoreboard as “1.00” rather than “10.00.” During her competitions back then, she rarely smiled but when she did smile it was magic. For those of us who were watching her compete on TV, her performances were amazing. She quickly became a sports legend.

Back at Home and Then Leaving Her Country

After the Olympic games, she went back to Romania, which was still an Eastern bloc Communist country at that time. Although she had brought honor to Romania by her great Olympic achievement, her freedom was very restricted by the authoritarian regime. Her travel was limited, and her activities carefully scrutinized. Her beloved coach, Béla Károlyi, and his wife Marta defected to America in 1981. Nadia was unhappy. Ultimately she made the risky decision to leave her country in 1989. First she went to Hungary, then Austria, but her ultimate goal was America.

In America

After she came to the United States, she became reacquainted with American gymnast Bart Conner, whom she had met in 1976. Their friendship and working relationship deepened into romance, and eventually they married and had a son. Bart and Nadia continue to be connected to the sport they both love. They have gymnastics-related businesses, including a school for gymnastics. They have supported the Special Olympics and various charities. Nadia was warmly welcomed back to Romania where she founded a medical clinic to help children and the elderly.

Truly a Hero

So now Nadia is my hero for much more than a handful of perfect “10’s.” She is an accomplished gymnast, talented, beautiful, a kind person, business woman, wife, and mother. She has proven her courage and her generosity. She had a huge impact on the sport of gymnastics, inspiring countless girls and young women to go into gymnastics.

Inspired by Nadia

When I was in rehab back in December 2019 and January 2020, I was struggling to get stronger and increase my endurance. I really needed hope and encouragement. When I heard about Cameo.com and how you can request celebrity shout-outs, it seemed like a really neat idea that I wanted to check out. When I saw Nadia on the celebrity list, I decided to ask her to make a video for me for a reasonable fee. What better way for me to get inspiration than directly from one of my longtime heroes! So I wrote to her, explaining who I was and what I wanted, and Nadia kindly agreed to make my video. You can find the video below. I do not own this video. However, I do have a personal license from Cameo to view and share this video for personal, non-commercial use.

Nadia Comaneci on Cameo

Nadia continues to inspire me even today. After I broke my ankle last March and had to reenter rehab, what she said in the video became even more important to me. Until then I hadn’t realized what an emotional rollercoaster that recovering from broken bones could be. Nadia said that in gymnastics you “only go forward.” In this last time, there were days when I almost gave up. There were “off” days in therapy when I felt weaker and that I was going backwards. There were days when I was afraid that I would never stand up again much less walk. Moving forward meant putting those not-so-good days behind me. It was all about trying again and working even harder. Thank you, Nadia, for helping me.

On June 19, 2020, I was finally able to walk out of the skilled nursing rehab facility. I was accompanied by my physical therapist Alex and two of my very favorite CNAs, Lakenya and Chante. If you want to see the video of Alex, Lakenya, Chante, and me walking out of the rehab center, please go to the My Rehab Story page. In the video Alex is by my side, Chante is manning my iPhone camera, and Lakenya is helping with the wheelchair.

Nadia’s Story

In case you didn’t watch the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics, or you are too young to remember Nadia, below is a video with a documentary about her and her life.