Former gymnast Nadia Comaneci has paid tribute to her coach, Bela Karolyi, who passed away on November 14, 2024, at the age of 82. USA Gymnastics announced the news. However, the cause of death is still unknown.
Bela and his wife, Márta Károlyi, transformed many young players into world-class champions in the US and Romania regions. Nadia Comaneci, Kerri Strug, and Mary Lou Retton were among the few players who struck gold under his training.
Comaneci shared a few pictures on X (formerly Twitter) from her past, including a black-and-white picture with Karolyi. She wrote, “A big impact and influence on my life.”
Many people took to social media to offer their condolences to the legendary athlete. They remembered him as “the best gymnastics trainer in the world.”
According to Voice of America, Comaneci was 14 when she was coached under the guidance of Bela Karolyi, which made her earn her first gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Accusations against Bela Karolyi and his wife
Bela Karolyi and his wife, Márta Károlyi, might have transformed the future of many women. Still, they became a subject of controversy when they were allegedly accused of physical and psychological abuse.
In Stejarel Olaru’s new book, “Nadia si Securitatea” (Nadia And The Securitate), he claimed that Nadia Comaneci was among the victims who were starved to the extent of developing eating disorders, was slapped, and denied medical treatments.
In an unpublished interview in the book, Comaneci confirmed that she was starved for three consecutive days while Bela Karolyi ate steaks and fries in front of the underfed players.
“Starving the gymnasts was a regular practice by the Karolyis,” Olaru writes in his book. “The girls ate toothpaste at night before going to bed — this is how hungry they were. In some cases they talked about drinking water from the toilet tank in secret, because they were often not allowed to drink water.”
“Some ended up suffering from bulimia. They became expert in stealing food, which they hid in places they thought no one would discover, like the hem of the curtain.”
Several gymnasts have claimed to be molested by the gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar while Karolyi and his wife turned a blind eye to his abuse. According to the New York Post, Nassar is a convicted s*x offender and a serial rapist.
He worked with the United States women’s national gymnastics team for 18 years, misusing his position to sexually assault hundreds of athletes. In 2016, he was arrested for assaulting over 265 young women under the guise of medical treatment.
A civil lawsuit claimed that the Karolyis were abusive towards the athletes and encouraged such behavior, including things such as beating, scratching minor child gymnasts until they were bleeding, and encouraging their parents to hit them. They also added that they were required to train even when they were sick.
Trending
Where is Nadia Comaneci now?
Nadia Comaneci, a five-time Olympic champion, retired in 1984. At the age of 63, she is currently serving as the honorary president of the Romanian Olympic Committee and is also a member of the International Gymnastics Federation Foundation.
Reply
