According to the National Barometer of Romanian Sport, carried out by Inscop Research, almost half of Romanians, 47.9% to be exact, consider Nadia Comăneci as the greatest Romanian athlete of all time.
Nadia Comăneci, considered by Romanians the greatest athlete in history PHOTO Facebook
When asked who was or is the greatest Romanian athlete, 20% chose football legend Gheorghe Hagi, 6.8% Simona Halep, also 6.8% canoeist Ivan Patzaichin, 5.2% swimmer David Popovici, 4.6% tennis player Ilie Năstase, and 0.9% Cristina Neagu and Elisabeta Lipă. 2% opted for someone else, and 4.8% did not answer.
The data shows that the perception of the greatest athlete varies by age, gender and level of education.
Nadia Comăneci dominates the preferences among women, over 45 and people with higher education. Gheorghe Hagi is a favorite especially among those between 18 and 44 and people with primary education, while young people under 30 believe more in Simona Halep. Men especially appreciate canoeing legend Ivan Patzaichin.
Nadia Comăneci: “Justice must be done for our girls”
The former great gymnast Nadia Comăneci, in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, took a stand after the floor final of the young Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. The gymnast stated that she spoke directly with the president of the International Gymnastics Federation and asked him to reanalyze the Romanian athlete’s grade.
Sabrina Maneca-Voinea was de-pointed by a tenth in the floor final, although the video analysis clearly shows that the Romanian athlete did not step outside the contest carpet, contrary to the accusations of the referees.
“I understand that it’s crazy at home, everyone is waiting for an answer. I don’t know what can happen, because if I take the medal from the other, nothing like that will happen. First of all, it must be clarified, to see if it was taken incorrectly and after that it will be decided what will happen. In any case, no one knows what can happen.
Waves were not made to point the finger at anyone, but because this justice needs to be done for our girls. In our soul she has the medal, no matter what happens.
I talked to her and she told me that she has a dark soul. The withdrawal announcement is an upsetting one, she needs a break to clear her mind and she feels the love of the people at home, and not only the people at home, because there was confusion everywhere.
I ran, I asked, I went to the head referee, I said I wanted to see the photo with the heel out, but I haven’t seen anything yet. Good luck with that shot because I don’t think anyone else has it from that angle. After this case they will probably think about doing something automatic to the carpet line“, said Nadia Comăneci.
