Bela Karolyi, the larger-than-life coach who led Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton to Olympic gold while revolutionizing the sport of gymnastics, only to see his legacy destroyed by allegations of abusive coaching, has died. He was 82.
USA Gymnastics confirmed the news, saying he had died Friday. Comaneci paid tribute to Karolyi with a post on her Instagram, showing a carousel of photos that included a black-and-white photo of her with the coach on a walk in the woods. The caption read: "A big impact and influence in my life. RIP Bela Karolyi."
"Almost 50 years ago he guided me to the historic performance of the First Perfect 10 in the Olympics … and that changed my life for ever," Comaneci, who remained close with Karolyi, told USA TODAY Sports in a text message.
A cause of death has not been revealed, but Karolyi had been in poor health in recent years. He and wife Martha largely disappeared from public view following the abuse scandal that rocked USA Gymnastics. Former team physician Larry Nassar sexually abused hundreds of girls and young women, with some of the abuse occurring during national team training camps at the Karolyi ranch.
The Karolyis denied any knowledge of Nassar’s abuse but the scandal brought a reckoning with the sport's toxic culture, including complaints that both Karolyis had been physically and emotionally abusive as coaches. In 2017, USA Gymnastics backed out of a deal to buy the Karolyi ranch and use it as a national team training center, effectively cutting ties with the couple.
"Bela Karolyi was a man whose influence on my life and the sport of elite gymnastics is undeniably significant. He was a complex individual, embodying a mix of strengths and flaws that left a lasting impact on those around him," Dominique Moceanu, perhaps the most vocal critics of the Karolyis, said in a post on social media.
"Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela's guidance as my coach came with immense challenges. His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me," she continued. "While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path."
Karolyi first rose to prominence in his native Romania. He and Martha were elementary school teachers in Transylvania when they began teaching their students gymnastics as a way to stay warm. Their performances delighted the townspeople and caught the attention of the government. Within a few years, they’d been put in charge of the national team.
Karolyi shook up the sport in 1976, when he arrived at the Montreal Olympics with a team of kids. Most elite female gymnasts in the 1970s were in their late teens or early 20s, but Karolyi’s team had just one gymnast older than 14. Romania won the silver medal, cementing for the next four decades the idea that gymnastics was a sport reserved for the young.
It was also in Montreal that the world was introduced to Comaneci, a dark-eyed, dark-haired sprite who scored the first perfect 10 at the Olympics. Comaneci would repeat that feat six times on her way to winning three gold medals, with Karolyi there to wrap her in a bear hug after each routine.