Nadia Comaneci

One of the most popular and exciting gymnasts to compete in the Olympic Games was the Romanian Nadia Comaneci. Fourteen-year-old Nadia burst on the Olympic scene when she competed in 1976 in Montreal against Olga Korbut, the great young Russian gymnast. Olga had won two gold medals in the 1972 Olympics, and she was going to try to repeat her victories in 1976. As Nadia watched, Olga approached the uneven parallel bars, leaped up, caught hold of one bar, and began her routine. She flipped, twisted, and turned. The crowd cheered, and the judges awarded Olga a score of 9.90. It would take almost a perfect, score of 10.00 to beat Olga. Nadia was next. She jumped and grabbed the lower bar. She performed an incredible series of whirls and spins. She made a dazzling dismount, and stood straight as an arrow. The crowd applauded Nadia wildly. The judges were astonished by Nadia’s performance and gave her a perfect score of 10.00! It was the first perfect gymnastic score in the history of the Olympic Games. Nadia won three gold medals and one silver in Montreal. Even with her perfect scores, however, she could not be called the greatest of all women gymnasts. That honour belongs to Larissa Latynina of the former Soviet Union, who, in three Olympics – 1956, 1960 and 1964 -won nine gold, five silver, and three bronze medals.