Nadia Comaneci is in Montreal to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her amazing gymnastic victory at the 1976 Olympics. She won her first medal in the women’s artistic individual all-around competition on July 21, 1976.
Comaneci was 14 at the time, representing Romania, when she posted a total of seven perfect 10s and won five medals, including three golds.
“It’s very emotional every time,” Comaneci said today at a news conference. “It feels like it’s been in a different lifetime for me.”
Comaneci, who eventually defected to the United States, described gymnastics as a base for all sports, said she felt no pressure at 14 as she was just a kid, but that at 18, as a “former Olympic champion” she began to feel the pressure.
She was among the 6,084 athletes in Montreal that year, but Comaneci who started gymnastics at 6, rose to international fame after she put up her first perfect 10 score at the Games, on the uneven bars on the first day of competition.
Today she said she’s honoured to be remembered for her achievements in 1976, and she will be at the upcoming Olympics in Rio for three weeks
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