Bela Karolyi, former US gymnastics coach, dies at the age of 82

Comaneci confirmed the news with a post to her Instagram, which featured a carousel of photos, including a black and white photo of her with the coach on a walk in the woods. The caption read: “A big impact and influence in my life. RIP Bela Karolyi.”

“Almost 50 years ago, he led me to the historic achievement of the First Perfect 10 at the Olympic Games… and that changed my life forever,” Comaneci told USA TODAY Sports of Karolyi, who died Friday.

A cause of death has not been revealed.

Karolyi has been in poor health in recent years, and he and his wife Martha largely disappeared from public view after the abuse scandal that rocked USA Gymnastics. Former team doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused hundreds of girls and young women, with some of the abuse occurring during training camps at the Karolyi ranch. The Karolyis denied any knowledge of Nassar’s abuse, but the scandal brought new attention to complaints that they were physically and emotionally abused as coaches. In 2017, USA Gymnastics pulled out of a deal to buy the Karolyi ranch and use it as a training center for the national team, effectively cutting ties with the couple.

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Karolyi rose to prominence in his native Romania. He and Martha were teachers at an elementary school in Transylvania when they started teaching their students gymnastics to stay warm. Within a few years they were put in charge of the national team.

Karolyi shook up the sport in 1976 when he brought a team of children to the Montreal Olympics. Most elite female gymnasts in the 1970s were in their late teens or early twenties, but Karolyi’s team had only one gymnast over the age of 14. Romania won the silver medal, cementing the idea that gymnastics was a sport reserved for the young for the next forty years. .

It was also in Montreal that the world was introduced to Comaneci, a dark-eyed, dark-haired sprite who scored the first perfect 10 at the Olympics. Comaneci repeated that feat six times on her way to winning three gold medals, with Karolyi wrapping her in a bear hug after each routine.

Although Karolyi was initially celebrated in Romania for the team’s success, he fell out of favor with the government four years later after criticizing the judging at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Karolyi was furious because he believed Comaneci had been robbed of a second gold medal, but Romanian officials were shocked that he had embarrassed the Soviet hosts.

Karolyi knew he would be punished, it was just a question of when. When he brought Comaneci and the Romanian team to the United States in March 1981, he and Martha decided to defect, even though neither spoke English and their young daughter was still in Romania.

Karolyi spent his first few months in America doing laps before reuniting with Americans he knew in the gymnastics community. Soon he and Martha were coaching again, including a vibrant West Virginia teen named Mary Lou.

In 1984, Retton became the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title.

For the next eight years, the Karolyis were the most prominent gymnastics coaches in the United States. A Karolyi gymnast won every U.S. all-around title from 1987 to 1992, and Kim Zmeskal became the first American woman to win the world championships in 1991.

The Karolyis retired after the 1992 Olympics, but returned to coach Dominique Moceanu and Kerri Strug prior to the Atlanta Games. It was Strug who sealed the team gold, the first for the American women, with a jump on a seriously injured ankle. Karolyi, ever the showman, carried her to the medal podium.

The Karolyis retired again after Atlanta. But in 1999, USA Gymnastics convinced Karolyi to return and oversee an overhaul of the American training system. Instead of gymnasts training alone and meeting alone at events, the national team would hold monthly training camps. This semi-centralized system allowed gymnasts to stay at home, rather than concentrate in one or two high-powered gyms, but it was supposed to promote better camaraderie and communication. Although Karolyi only served as national team coordinator for a year, Martha succeeded him and turned the American women into a powerhouse.

Follow Nancy Armor on social media @narmour

This article has been updated with video.