Nadia Comaneci, an iconic Romanian gymnast, set the standard for perfection forty-seven years ago at the 1976 Olympic Games. Comaneci’s flawless performance on the uneven bars earned her the first-ever perfect 10 score in gymnastics history. While this achievement brought her abundant fame, it also brought a fair share of troubles.

Comaneci’s perfect 10 not only made her a global sensation but also put her under intense scrutiny from the Romanian communist regime. Nevertheless, the young gymnast remained resilient and continued to excel in her sport. Yesterday, the Olympics social media account posted a video of the gymnast from that historic moment, reminding the world of her incredible accomplishment.

Celebrating Nadia Comaneci’s historic perfect score

Nadia Comaneci competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where she flawlessly executed a routine on the uneven bars. All throughout her choreography in the compulsory event, Cathy Rigsby, the commentator, kept praising her, saying, ?Gorgeous routine, beautiful, and the crowd loves it?.?After she dismounted, the judges awarded a perfect score of 10, making Nadia the first gymnast in history to achieve such a feat. This was such an unprecedented moment that even the scoreboard did not have the space to display the 10.00 score. Instead, it simply read “1.00” within the three-digit space.

In the same year, Nadia achieved the perfect score six more times. The Romanian team competed fiercely against the Soviet Union in the gymnastic events at the Olympics, giving them strict competition. The Olympics Instagram account uploaded a video of Nadia?s uneven bar routine and captioned it, ?The very first perfect 10 at the Olympics was performed by Nadia Comaneci #OnThisDay 47 years ago?.

Following her achievements in 1976, she was titled the ?goddess from Montr?al?. But what impacted her life the most was the ?Hero of the Socialist Labour? title from the communist regime.

The shadow of communism and the road to freedom

Nadia?s achievements became part of the regime?s propaganda. She was used as a symbol of the regime’s success and superiority. However, behind the scenes, Nadia faced immense pressure from the government to maintain her image as a perfect athlete. In the book, ?Nadia and the Securitate?, Nadia spoke about the constant surveillance by the Securitate secret police. She also revealed the physical and mental abuse she had to endure at the hands of her trainer Bela Karolyi.

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Despite her troubles, the gymnast stayed strong and even won two gold medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. She tied with Maxi Gnauck, a celebrated East German gymnast, and finally secured the silver medal for Romania. The proud regime wanted to showcase her success and arranged for a tour in the U.S. in 1981. Her coaches used this opportunity to defect to the States. Eight years later, Nadia, too, defected and currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Bart Conner. Together, both gymnasts run the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy to train the athletes of the future.

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