NADIA COMANECI

Name: Nadia Comaneci

Date of birth: November 12, 1961

Place of birth: Onesti, Romania

Nadia Comaneci was born to Gheorge and Stefania-Alexandria Comaneci on November 12, 1961 in Onesti, a factory town in the mountains of Romania. Nadia and her family lived in a small apartment. She was an active child who enjoyed running and jumping.

By the age of six, she was already hooked on gymnastic . Then, she was discovered by famed Romanian gymnastics coach, Bela Karolyi. He and his wife were looking for youngsters for the National Junior Team and he decided she had potential. She began to train two to three hours a day with Karolyi and he was impressed with her work ethnic.She earned seven perfect scores and five medals, including three golds, and was the first gymnast to ever earn a perfect score in Olympic competition. Comaneci went on to compete in the 1980 Moscow games and brought her lifetime medal total to five golds, three silvers and one bronze. She retired from competition in 1984 and became a judge and the coach of the Romanian national team. In 1989 Comaneci fled Romania and was granted political asylum in the United States. She settled in Norman, Oklahoma and married U.S. gymnast Bart Connor in 1996. Comaneci became a U.S. citizen in 2001.