The 82-year-old former great coach died Friday at his home in Huntsville, Texas, after a long battle with the disease that left him unable to recognize anyone and feed himself.
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1979: Béla Károlyi, with the team that brought Romania its first world title, in Fort Worth. Photo Getty images
Former great Romanian gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi, who led Nadia Comăneci to Olympic gold in 1976, died on Friday at the age of 82, the United States Gymnastics Federation announced on Saturday, cited by AFP.
Béla earned his reputation as a great coach after helping Nadia Comăneci achieve perfection at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Nadia achieved the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics history and would repeat this feat six times. on her way to winning three gold medals, with Károlyi there to hug her after each exercise.
Criticism of the Soviets
Then he was behind the seven medals won by women’s gymnastics at the 1980 Olympic Games. Then, in Moscow, Nadia Comăneci won two gold medals, one silver, while Emilia Eberle brought us a silver , and Melita Rühn two bronze medals. Also, Romania won the silver medal in the team competition. Although Károlyi was initially celebrated in Romania for the team’s success, he fell out of favor with the Communists after criticizing the refereeing at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Károlyi was outraged, considering that Comăneci had been robbed of a second gold medal, but Romanian officials were horrified by the fact that he made a laughing stock of the Soviet hosts.
The American dream, turned into a nightmare
After this edition of the Olympic Games, the spouses Béla and Márta Károlyi remained in the USA in 1981 and subsequently made a great contribution to the rise of women’s gymnastics in this country. After fleeing to the United States in 1981, he helped American Mary Lou Retton win Olympic gold in 1984 in Los Angeles.
Béla worked with U.S. female athletes until 2000, while his wife remained the U.S. national team coordinator from 2001 to 2016.
Known for his strict discipline, Károlyi has been a controversial figure in the United States with his wife Márta, also a coach, at their Texas ranch, which was the national training center for the United States gymnastics team from 2001 to 2018 .
Colossal scandal across the ocean
Afterwards, the Károlyis fell out of the limelight, mostly because of the colossal scandal involving Larry Nassar that broke out in 2016, the year Márta Károlyi left the gymnastics team. The former doctor of the American team was sentenced to 175 years in prison for the sexual assault of more than 500 girls who came into contact with him, at the team! During the trial, which horrified America, it was circulated that the Károlyis would have known about the abuses of the convicted doctor and that some of these sexual abuses would have happened at the Károlyi Ranch itself.
The Károlyis have denied any knowledge of Nassar’s abuse, but the scandal has led to scrutiny of the sport’s toxic culture, including complaints that both Karolyis were physically and emotionally abusive as coaches. In 2017, USA Gymnastics backed out of an agreement to buy the Károlyi Ranch and continue to use it as the national team’s training facility, effectively cutting ties with the couple.
Torn by a relentless disease
Officially, the cause of death was not disclosed, but Béla Károlyi had been in poor health in recent years and lived his last days in a serious condition, caused by the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Geza Poszar, the former choreographer of the Romanian team from Nadia’s heyday, revealed this situation, first, on social networks. Then, contacted by gsp.ro, he developed the topic related to the disease that brought down Béla Károlyi.
“Béla is battling Alzheimer’s and I understand she has a number of other medical complications as well. After selling the ranch and the hall, the whole complex, Márta and Béla moved to Huntsville, about two hours away from Houston, where his daughter lives with her family. Unfortunately, Béla no longer recognizes anyone and is cared for by a nurse at home, 24 hours a day. He can only eat baby food (no – baby food), with a spoon, like small children. He is living his last days”, declared Geza Poszar, at the beginning of this month.
Nadia’s farewell message
“He had a great influence in my life. Rest in peace, Béla Károlyi”, wrote Nadia Comăneci on her Instagram account. “Nearly 50 years ago he guided me to the historic performance of a perfect top 10 at the Olympics… and that changed my life forever.” said Nadia, who has remained close to Károlyi, in a message to USA TODAY Sports.
And the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee issued a statement, paying tribute to Béla Károlyi: “Smooth road, Béla Károlyi! He achieved sporting perfection on earth, created the most beautiful story of Romanian and world sports, changed the paradigm of a discipline. He was the creator of Nadia Comaneci and of successful Romanian gymnastics”.
The FRG sent its condolences
“Béla Károlyi passed away after a long and difficult suffering. He was the coach of Nadia, Teodora Ungureanu, Emilia Eberle, Dumitrița Turner and all the other components of the Olympic teams. It will remain in the history of gymnastics for the exceptional results from the Olympic Games in Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980, for the first world gold of the Romanian team in Forth Worth in 1979, for all the successes obtained for the first time by the gymnasts who competed under the colors of the tricolor . God rest him in peace! Condolences to the family!”, it is stated in a press release of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation.
