During the Montreal Olympics in 1976, one billion people were watching the young Nadia. Nadia had surpassed her main competitor, the Belarussian Olga Korbut, and was standing humbly on the winner’s podium. When reporters asked her how it felt to get gold and perfect 10’s, she replied that it was okay, as she had already received about 19 of them in other competitions.
Nadia later commented in an interview on what it was like to be such a young competitor at the Olympics “Actually, it was easy being young because you don’t know. What you understand at 14 is different than what you understand at 20 years old. I had basically no pressure when I competed in ’76, because I was 14 and a half, I only went to do my routines and I was just hoping to not mess up on beam or on bars. I came back from the Olympics, and when I got out of the plane, there were 10,000 people at the airport, and I didn’t know why they came because I didn’t think I had done anything different than I had done in the gym. So I didn’t realize that, then.”
Nadia Shares Her Side Of The Story
You might wonder why Holmes chose Comaneci as the subject of her film. Maybe it has something to do with the parallels between their two stories. Both women became famous as teens and have that same sort of naive brunette beauty. It would even seem likely that Holmes, as a teenager, would play Comaneci in a movie about her. The similarities don't stop at their looks and the age at which they both became famous.
Beyond those superficial qualities, there are some deeper similarities. Most obvious, both have complicated histories with controlling men. Despite the film not being a big success, both of these young women are Eternal Princesses… And now, Nadia was finally able to share her side of the story to the world, difficult as it may have been.
Her One And Only
Nadia Comăneci has two men in her life. Her husband of course, and her son Dylan. Dylan was born in 2006 and Comăneci’s adores him. She spends a lot of time with her son and the hundreds of pictures of him on her phone can vouch for her fondness of him. She often shares pictures of him with reporters.
Comăneci had her son at a very late age, and for that reason, he’s an only child.
Puberty Years
Following the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the Romanian government wanted Comăneci to take a bit of a break from the sport. Around this time is also when Nadia started going through puberty and growing taller. Because she stopped training, she was no longer following a strict diet.
When her coach first saw her after not seeing her for some time, he exclaimed that she had turned into an “enormous monster.” Nadia sure showed him who was boss and she ended up winning several gold medals later that year.
Mean Hecklers
In the 1980 Olympics in Moscow (when U.S. President Jimmy Carter refused to allow Americans to attend), Nadia once again competed. To Nadia’s disadvantage, the Russian put in their rowdy soldiers in the crowd to try and mess other athletes up.
When Comăneci performed her routine on the uneven bars, soldiers yelled at her “Fall Nadia Fall!” Comăneci, on her end, was so concentrated on the routine that she didn’t notice.