Nadia Comăneci
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Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (née Comăneci; born November 12, 1961) is a retired Romanian gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at age 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games. At the same Games (1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal), she earned six more perfect 10s for events en route to winning three gold medals. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Comăneci won two more gold medals and achieved two more perfect 10s. During her career, Comăneci won nine Olympic medals and four World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals. One of the world's best-known gymnasts, Comăneci was praised for her artistry and grace, which brought unprecedented global popularity to the sport in the mid-1970s. Called "the most iconic gymnast of the 20th century" by El País, Comăneci was named one of the Athletes of the 20th century by the Laureus World Sports Academy. In August 2024, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted her as the best female gymnast of the past 100 years and the second best athlete of all sports after Serena Williams. Comăneci has lived in the United States since 1989, when she defected from then-Communist Romania, before its revolution in December that year. Comăneci later worked with and married American Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner — a wedding which was held in Bucharest after the fall of the Communist regime and televised live in Romania.