Nadia, the Romanian born gymnasts, is one of the best known athletes in the world. She had a unique career as a gymnast and person she was able to reach the top irrespective of extreme demanding circumstances during her career.

1. "Jump off the
beam, flip off the
bars, follow your
dreams, and
reach for
the stars."
Nadia Comaneci
Part 8: World Class Sport Achievers

2. InspirationInspiration
and Quotesand Quotes
from Sportfrom Sport
AchieversAchievers
Inspiration
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3. Mo va onalLessons:
 Nadia, the Romanian born gymnast, is one
ofthebest-knownathletesintheworld.She
had a unique career as a gymnast and she
was able to reach the top, irrespec ve of
extremely demanding circumstances
duringhercareer.
The reasons for her success as described by
hercoachis:
 Her physical quali es, namely strength,
speedandagility.
 Her intellectual quali es, namely
intelligence and the power to concentrate
andfocuswithdetermina on.
 Hercourage.Sheknewnofear.
 She would prac se exercises many mes
un l she perfected it, without any
complaints. She prac sed 4 hours per day, 6
daysperweek.
“I like to tell young people to work
hard for your goals and live in the
moment”
“One of the most difficult mes in my
life was when I escaped from Romania
in November of 1989"
“I believe that you should gravitate to
people who are doing produc ve and
posi ve things with their lives.”

4.  She was considered as one of the best athletes of the
century. She holds the record for being the youngest
Olympic gymnast all-around champion ever. She
received the Olympic Order twice. She was the only
person to achieve that honour twice. She also received
many other accolades.
 Her talent was discovered at the age of six by her
coach, Karoly. She was chosen to a end his gymnas cs
school.
 At the age of eight, she had her first major
interna onal success by winning many gold medals at
the European Championships.
 At the age of fourteen, Nadia became one of the
biggest stars of the sport by scoring, what was
considered as impossible, the perfect 10 at the
Montreal Olympics in 1976. She achieved perfect
scores at other compe ons following the Olympics.
 Nadia's career was not easy. She was living in a
communist country ruled by a dictator who interfered
with poli cal agendas regarding the career
development of this Romanian sports hero. The
government intervened with the judges during the
European Championships in 1977. The Romanian team
withdrew. He interfered by deciding where she must
prac se. She was ba ling with stress because of this
as well as her parents' divorce. Because of these
developments, her fitness and performance suffered.
 She returned to top form again during 1978 when she
and her original coach were reunited.
 Nadia re red from gymnas cs in 1981.
 She became involved in gymnas c coaching and
administra on in Romania a er her re rement.

5. She is married. She is involved in many Olympic and other sports ac vi es, suppor ng the development of
sport. She has wri en a few books. She is a television commentator and involved in television documentaries.
She is involved in many charity organiza ons and the Nadia Comaneci Founda on in Romania.
 Under extremely difficult circumstances, Nadia
became an Olympic hero through dedica on and
hardwork.Sheisnowusinghertalenttoimprovethe
lives of underprivileged children and inspires people
throughherlifeexperience.
 She and her husband are
involved in various
businesses. They are
mo va onal and
inspira onal speakers
helping individuals and
companies.

6.  During the period
1981 to 1989, she
was forbidden to
leave Romania
and her ac ons
were constantly
monitored.
 She fled the country in
the middle of the night,
on foot through the
snow, before the
revolu on in 1989. She
became a USA ci zen
during 2001.

7.  "I'm not a dreamer for, you know, I want to go to the moon someday. I
accomplished something when I was young which was much more than I
expected to," Comaneci said. "My results were much bigger than I ever
dreamed about it.”
 “Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.”
 “I don't run away from a challenge because I
am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the
only way to escape fear is to trample it
beneath your feet.”
 “Other kids had more talent', she maintains,
'but I was the most focused.”
 "It would be great if you could discover a way
of working very li le and being successful, but
there isn't one."

8. References:
h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Com%C4%83neci
h p://www.bartandnadia.com/
h p://www2.lhric.org/pocan co/womenenc/comaneci.htm
h p://www.aarp.org/poli cs-society/history/info-07-
2010/where_are_they_now_nadia_comaneci.2.html
h p://www.biography.com/people/nadia-comaneci-9254240