the 1976 games whether four digits
would be necessary for gymnastics, it was
told that a perfect 10.00 was not
possible. Nadia’s perfect marks were thus
displayed as 1.00 instead. The crowd was
at first confused, but soon understood
and gave her a rousing ovation. Com?neci
was the first Romanian gymnast to win
the Olympic all-around title. She also
holds the record for being the youngest
Olympic gymnastics all-around champion
ever.
Com?neci retired from competition in
1981. Her official retirement ceremony
took place in Bucharest in 1984 and was
attended by the Chairman of the
International Olympic Committee.
Family…
While she was living in Montreal, former
American gymnast Bart Conner, whom
she had met for the first time in 1976 at
the American Cup, contacted her and
invited her to live in Oklahoma. They
became engaged in 1994. The couple
were married in Bucharest on April 27,
1996. On June 29, 2001, Com?neci
became a naturalized citizen of the United
States. She has also retained her
Romanian passport, making her a dual
citizen.Com?neci and Conner welcomed
their first child, a son named Dylan Paul
Conner, on June 3, 2006, in Oklahoma
C i t y, O k l a h o m a . I n t h e w o r l d o f
gymnastics, she and her husband own
the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy,
the Perfect 10 Production Company and
they are also the editors of “International
Gymnast” magazine.
Back toOlympics…
On July 21, 2012, Com?neci, along with
former basketball star John Amaechi,
carried the Olympic torch to the roof of
the O2 Arena as part of the torch relay
for the 2012 Summer Olympics in
London.
Awards
Com?neci received the Olympic Order, the
highest award given by the International
Olympic Committee, in 1984 and 2004.
She is the only person to have received
this honour twice, and was also the
youngest recipient. She has also been
inducted into the International
Gymnastics Hall of Fame
Special skills
Com?neci was known for her clean
technique and difficult original skills. On
the uneven bars, Com?neci performed
her own release move, a kip to immediate
straddled front salto. The skill is named
after her in the women’s Code of Points.
On the balance
b e a m ,
Com?neci was
the
first
gymnast to
successfully
perform an
aerial walkover
and an aerial
cartwheel-back
handspring
flight series.
She is also
credited as
being the first
gymnast to
perform
a
double-twist
dismount.