~Nadia Comaneci~
Little Miss Perfect
This part of my page is dedicated to the best gymnast of all time.
Contact Nadia!
Read a survey that Nadia filled out for me!
Nadia is taking part in a cermony to give Andreea Raducan her gold medal back and Simona Amanar the silver by phone. The ceremony will be held in Bucharest and will be televised on Romanian TV.
Apparently Nadia was on a special
Olympic addition of Hollywood squares with Bart Conner, Mitch Gaylord and Kerri
Strug.
This interview
was on N.Z team when the Olympics were on. Nadia seemed very nice and smiled and
laughed a lot. She looked great, wearing a pink top and rose-tinted glasses.
Paul Holmes obviously doesn’t know a lot about gymnastics though!
Paul Holmes-So
we’re all looking for Olga Korbut and suddenly there’s a new star. Suddenly
a new star in the form of Romanian Nadia Comaneci. And at 14 she took the
gymnastics world by storm. She did the unthinkable at Montreal- she scored 7
perfect 10s. She won 3 gold medals at the Montreal Games, 2 silvers and a
bronze. Now Nadia is in Sydney at the moment and I caught up with her and spoke
to this woman of legend, of Olympic History at Darling Harbour. But first that
perfect style, that 10 out of 10 style that made Nadia Comaneci and athlete of
the millennium.
VIDEO CLIP
PH- Nadia!
Nadia Comaneci-
Hi!
PH- Paul- My name
is Paul
NC- Paul.
PH- It’s
wonderful to meet you.
NC- Nice to meet
you.
PH- Come round
over here a little bit.
NC- It’s sunny.
PH- Sunny. Yeah,
it’s sunny. But come round over here so that we can see the beautiful harbour
behind you, you see?
NC- Yeah
PH- So many
interviews, Nadia
NC- Well that’s
good, yeah.
PH- Is that good?
NC- Of course it
is!
PH- You don’t
get sick of talking?
NC- Well, you
might say the same things- a few different things. But I think that people are
interested to know why am I here? And what am I doing? Of Course, because it is
the Olympics and doing some work with the radio, Coca Cola(?) and you know,
going to the gymnastics. I think it’s been fun.
PH- Do you go to
all the Olympics?
NC- I’ve been
pretty much to all of them, yeah.
PH-You know, I
look at all the gymnastics now- the kids. I don’t see anyone as good as Nadia-
I don’t see anyone as good.
NC-Oh, Thank you
for the compliment!
PH- You are the
greatest.
NC- You know I’m
still surprised that the people- when you think about it (I competed 24 years
ago)- I was shocked that people sill remember me because you know, it’s like,
people come- champions, and they go and …
PH- Yeah, but not
many champions win 3 gold medals, a silver and a bronze in one Olympics and then
2 gold medals and 2 silvers at another. And you retired at the top- you know
that?
NC- Ah, well
probably (?)
PH- You didn’t
get old and fall off the beam
NC- No. Well, I
didn’t look forward to do that, anyway. But I think people remember and
identify me with the first person to score a perfect 10 in history of the
Olympics.
PH- When you look
back at those pictures- when you look back at those pictures, do you believe
that’s you? Are you amazed that you could do that?
NC- Well, when I
look back at the pictures I know that was me because I still remember the
routines that I have done when I was young. But of course everybody changes- 24
years so…
PH- But you still
look wonderful
NC- Why, thank
you!
PH- It’s a great
pleasure. No, but listen, how do they do those back flips up in the air on those
beams? I mean in the end you’ve got to stand on it- you’ve got to flip back
and land. It seems impossible. Is it scary?
NC- It’s not
scary! The ah- probably it’s scary for somebody who hasn’t been on a beam
before…
PH- Hey (He yells
at some kids!) Excuse me. It’s scary if you haven’t done it before, yes?
NC-Yes, but you
know- it’s like you start when you’re 6 and you start with a beam that’s
close to the floor and then you go higher, so…
PH- But the
psychology says ‘you’re higher now’ so don’t you get frightened?
NC- No
PH- No? OK. So did
you have a childhood?
NC- Yeah, I did,
yeah.
PH- You know what
I mean though, what was your day like in those days?
NC- Well, you
know, I think that when you think about my career- I started gymnastics because
I had too much energy. My Mum signed my up for the sport.
PH- ‘Go and do
something’ you’re mother said?
NC- Yeah, she said
‘Don’t jump in the house too much’. So I did that and I loved jumping on
the trampoline and things like that. And I think that accomplishing and learning
things and being good at made me go every day into it and then, you know, you
have an experience that not every kid has and then everybody says, like you know
‘But you weren’t allowed…’ and I say ‘But I think that being a normal
person is not good.’ I mean I like to be somebody different.
PH- You work all
your childhood.
NC- Yeah
PH- You get better
and better and better
NC-Yeah
PH- You do this
wonderful job at the Montreal Olympics and then at the Moscow Olympics. Then
shortly after that you retire. At 23 you have to learn a new life.
NC- Well, it’s a
different life, but I’m still around gymnastics. You know, I do things related
to the sport and I do like what I’m doing here- it’s a lot of work but
it’s fun.
PH- Sure
NC- So that’s
like the Coke and American Express and things like that.
PH-But was it like
a new freedom when you didn’t have to go to the gymnasium all the time- was
that kind of like a new freedom?
NC- No, I like to
be there in the gym. If I had to do it all over again I would do it.
PH- But am I right
though- you know, when I say gymnastics did not get better.
Has gymnastics got better? Like swimming’s got better, running’s got
faster. I look at these kids…
NC-Gymnastics- it
got better, yeah. There’s a lot of difficult skills that they didn’t do when
I was competing so I think that a sport is a big sport when there is a big star.
PH- You were such
a star
NC- (laughs)
PH- You are the
greatest star of all
NC- Thank you very
much.
PH- Tell me one
thing. I’ve always been curious, is your name ‘co-man-each-she’ or ‘
co-man-each’?
NC- Comaneci
(‘com-an-each’)
PH- Thank you. Now
we have it once and for all.
NC- Now you know
it- thanks
PH- You get
married, you left Romania. Can you go back to Romania?
NC- Yeah, I’ve
been there 4 times this year
PH- You love it
still?
NC- That’s my
country- what do you mean I don’t love it!
PH- Of course you
love it.
NC- I live in the
states, but I’m always going to be a Romanian.
PH- And you got
married to a double gold medal gymnast, American, Bart Conner?
NC- Yeah. You’re
really good informed!
PH- I’m really
good informed! I’m really good informed about Ms. Comaneci! And you must be
very fit- both of you?
NC- We work-out
every day, don’t you?
PH- No, no! I’ve
started to
NC-You’ve
started to?
PH- I’ve started
to do sit-ups
NC-You gotta get
in shape and you know, start working out! Have you ever done splits?
PH- Splits!
NC- No?
PH- Not for a long
time (she laughs) Not down on the bar
NC- It will hurt.
It will hurt! Yeah
PH- Do you still
do splits and stuff like this?
NC- Of course I
do, yeah
PH- And you
workout together?
NO- Did you climb
that bridge? Where is it?
PH- No, have you
climbed the bridge?
NC- No, I’m not
going to do that
PH- You know
people in New Zealand, we’ve loved you for years and it’s wonderful you know
that we get a chance to speak to you.
NC- Thank you.
Thank you very much. Bye!
PH- Goodbye now.
PH- So, she’s
very charming, isn’t she? Nadia Comaneci. Did she say ‘com-an-eech’ or
‘com-an-eech’? Now I’ve got to think about it! When you get a common cold
and fleas are going around do you get a commonitch? I don’t know but
‘com-an-eech’ will do. Anyway, she’s 38 now- roughly 38. And she’s very
busy. Fit- as we saw and she’s holding up well isn’t she? Still working out-
still very busy around the world.
*Nadia was inducted to the Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997
January 2000:
*There is a Nadia Comaneci Avenue at the Sydney Olympic village
*Nadia is in the book "The most important things I know about the spirit of sport"
*Nadia was honored at the Chunichi Cup as she was a past winner of this competition
*Nadia was recently in a Romanian telephone company advertisement. She donated the money to a gym club in Romania.
Nadia fans have been here
Last updated- 11/17/00
