On the 1st of July I told the historian Anita Sterea about Nadia Comaneci and the first perfect 10 in the history of the Olympics. In 2026 it will be completed. 50 years From the moment that forever changed the history of gymnastics. On July 18, 1976, in Montreal, a 14-year-old girl The Perfect First 10 In the history of the Olympic competition, a performance that would turn Romania's name into a symbol of excellence in gymnastics.
Departing from Oneşti, Nadia Comăneci became one of the most important ambassadors of Romania. At the Montreal Olympics he scored seven 10s, and throughout his Olympic career in Montreal and Moscow he won nine Olympic medals, five of which were gold. Distinguished with the title of ‘Sportswoman of the 20th Century’, Nadia remains to this day the most awarded athlete in the history of Romania’s Olympic participations.
Beyond athletic performances, his life also tells the story of a personality who has gone through one of the most difficult periods of recent history. Permanently supervised by the communist regime after its success in 1976, Nadia left Romania in November 1989, in an episode that provoked one of the last great crises of the communist regime before the Revolution of December 1989.
Today, Nadia Comaneci lives in the United States with her husband, Olympic champion Bart Conner, and is involved in numerous sports, educational and charitable projects. Fifty years after the first perfect Olympic 10, his story continues to inspire generations.
Anita Sterea, historian specialising in the history of sport and researcher of the history of the Olympic movement. Author of a doctoral thesis entitled "How the Communist regime used the Romanian Olympic performance" and a graduate of a master's degree in Olympic studies at the International Olympic Academy, Anita Sterea is a lecturer at the National School of Coaches, where she teaches sports history, as well as an associate professor at the Faculty of History of the University of Bucharest, where she lectures on sports during the communist period.
Anita Sterea is also the chair of the European Olympic Academies Olympic Heritage Commission. He has participated in numerous conferences and congresses on Olympic or sports topics and is an excellent storyteller.
English (UK)