Gymnastics coach who trained Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton and who was linked to the Nassar scandal, dies at 82
A legendary gymnastics coach died on Friday, according to USA Gymnastics.
Bela Karolyi, best known for training legends Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton, has died at the age of 82.
No cause of death was given.
Karolyi and wife Martha trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the US and Romania, including Comaneci and Retton.
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“A big impact and influence on my life,” Comaneci, just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on Instagram.
Romania’s Nadia Comaneci (center) and Soviet Union’s Nellie Kim (right) scored a perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics. Comaneci defeated Kim in the all-around final. (Getty Images)
The Karolyis defected to the United States in 1981 and became a leading force in American gymnastics over the next thirty years, but not without controversy. Bela helped a 16-year-old Retton to the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug off the floor at the 1996 Games in Atlanta after Strug’s jump secured the team gold for the Americans. .
Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics’ elite women’s program in 1999, integrating a semi-centralized system that eventually made the Americans the gold standard of the sport. It didn’t happen without costs. He was kicked out after the 2000 Olympics after several athletes spoke out about his tactics.
American gymnast Mary Lou Retton performs in the 1980s. (Robert Riger/Getty Images)
It wouldn’t be the last time Karolyi was accused of grandstanding and pushing his athletes too far physically and mentally.
FLASHBACK: US OLYMPIC GYMNAISTS BEAT NASSAR INVESTIGATION, CLAIM FBI ‘BECOMING BLIND EYE,’ FALSIFIED REPORT
During the height of the Larry Nassar scandal in the late 2010s, more than a dozen former gymnasts came forward and said the Karolyis were part of a system that created a culture in which Nassar’s behavior was allowed to continue unchecked for years.
Nassar, the disgraced USA Gymnastics team doctor, was effectively sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment.
The Ministry of Justice agreed in April to pay $138.7 million to settle 139 claims by those who accused the FBI of mishandling sex abuse allegations against Nasar in 2015 and 2016.
Nassar worked at Michigan State University and was a team physician at USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis. Several current and former athletes including Simone BilesMcKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols testified at a 2021 Senate hearing that the FBI failed to act on their complaints against him.
Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar will appear in court for his final sentencing on February 5, 2018 in Eaton County Circuit Court in Charlotte, Michigan. (Rena Laverty/AFP via Getty Images)
Michigan State University agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Paralympic Committee agreed to a $380 million settlement.
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In total, several organizations have set aside $1 billion to compensate Nassar’s victims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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