{"id":"3382","title":"Happy 60th birthday, Nadia Comaneci!  ","summary":"Nadia Comaneci (ROU) turns 60 on 12 November, but in the eyes of the world, she remains eternally young.","category":"sport","content":"<p><strong>Nadia Comaneci (ROU) turns 60 on 12 November, but in the eyes of the world, she remains eternally young.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.olympicchannel.com\/video\/syndicated\/detail\/happy-birthday-nadia?partner_name=www.gymnastics.sport&amp;partnerdomain=www.gymnastics.sport\" width=\"950\" height=\"679\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Comaneci was just 14 when she captivated the world with seven unparalleled performances at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal (CAN), each one earning a perfect 10, a mark previously almost unheard of in Olympic competition.<\/p>\n<p>The photo of 1.00 - the perfect score flashing across a scoreboard not designed to contemplate the possibility of a perfect 10 - remains one of the enduring images in all of sports.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img src=\"https:\/\/administration.gymnastics.sport\/news\/20211111160729738.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"50%\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Comaneci&rsquo;s performances and the gold medals that came with them - three in Montreal, and two more in Moscow in 1980 - made her into an international superstar and cast the global spotlight of the world over the thrilling feats presented by gymnasts.<\/p>\n<p>Forty-five years later, her name remains synonymous with the 10 - and its underlying connotations of perfection - even though both she and her sport have evolved.<\/p>\n<p>These days, Comaneci lives in Oklahoma, USA, with her husband, two-time Olympic gold medallist <strong>Bart Conner<\/strong>, and their teenage son <strong>Dylan<\/strong>, a world away from the Romania she grew up in and represented internationally until 1981.<\/p>\n<p>There are some similarities: a Gymnastics school nearby named for Conner, and Comaneci still exerts a powerful influence over her sport. The theme of responsibility and the need to work hard to attain success underpins her reflections and advice.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When I began my career, I just wanted to do cartwheels,&rdquo; she explained in her memoir &ldquo;Letters To A Young Gymnast,&rdquo; in which she often addresses herself to an anonymous pen pal, a reflection of a lifetime&rsquo;s worth of fan mail.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Friend, no one ever accomplishes your dreams for you, regardless of tears, fits, or any other means of manipulation,&rdquo; she writes. &ldquo;They can give you ideas and direction, but in the end, you have to do it alone. You must figure out your own destination and the best route to get there because no one else knows the way.&rdquo; Prescient advice for gymnasts of all ages.<\/p>","publication":"2021-11-12 09:30:00","press_release":"0","url":"3382305","events":[{"hasresults":false,"id":15741,"startevent":"1980-07-19","endevent":"1980-08-03","status":"approved","title":"Games of the XXII Olympiad","city":{"name":"MOSCOW","country":{"code":"URS"}},"disciplines":[{"id":2,"idOfficialDiscipline":2,"code":"MAG"},{"id":3,"idOfficialDiscipline":3,"code":"WAG"}]},{"hasresults":false,"id":15742,"startevent":"1976-07-17","endevent":"1976-08-01","status":"approved","title":"Games of the XXI Olympiad","city":{"name":"MONTREAL","country":{"code":"CAN"}},"disciplines":[{"id":2,"idOfficialDiscipline":2,"code":"MAG"},{"id":3,"idOfficialDiscipline":3,"code":"WAG"}]}],"relateddisciplines":[{"id":"3","code":"WAG","name":"Women's Artistic Gymnastics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"40","value":"Women's Artistic Gymnastics"},{"id":"80","value":"anniversary"},{"id":"633","value":"2021"},{"id":"1820","value":"legend"}],"read":2}