"Jump off the

beam, flip off the

bars, follow your

dreams, and

reach for

the stars."

Nadia Comaneci

Part 8: World Class Sport Achievers

Inspiration Inspiration

and Quotes and Quotes

from Sport from Sport AchieversAchievers

Inspiration

and Quotes

from Sport Achievers

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Mo�va�onal Lessons:

Nadia, the Romanian born gymnast, is one of the best-known athletes in the world. She had a unique career as a gymnast and she was able to reach the top, irrespec�ve of extremely demanding circumstances during her career.

The reasons for her success as described by her coach is:

Her physical quali�es, namely strength, speed and agility.

H e r i nte l l e c t u a l q u a l i � e s , n a m e l y intelligence and the power to concentrate and focus with determina�on.

Her courage. She knew no fear. She would prac�se exercises many �mes

un�l she perfected it , without any complaints. She prac�sed 4 hours per day, 6 days per week.

“I like to tell young people to workhard for your goals and live in the

moment”

“One of the most difficult �mes in mylife was when I escaped from Romania

in November of 1989"

“I believe that you should gravitate topeople who are doing produc�ve and

posi�ve things with their lives.”

She was considered as one of the best athletes of the century. She holds the record for being the youngest Olympic gymnast all-around champion ever. She received the Olympic Order twice. She was the only person to achieve that honour twice. She also received many other accolades.

Her talent was discovered at the age of six by her coach, Karoly. She was chosen to a�end his gymnas�cs school.

At the age of eight, she had her first major interna�onal success by winning many gold medals at the European Championships.

At the age of fourteen, Nadia became one of the biggest stars of the sport by scoring, what was considered as impossible, the perfect 10 at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. She achieved perfect scores at other compe��ons following the Olympics.

Nadia's career was not easy. She was living in a communist country ruled by a dictator who interfered with poli�cal agendas regarding the career development of this Romanian sports hero. The government intervened with the judges during the European Championships in 1977. The Romanian team withdrew. He interfered by deciding where she must prac�se. She was ba�ling with stress because of this as well as her parents' divorce. Because of these developments, her fitness and performance suffered.

She returned to top form again during 1978 when she and her original coach were reunited.

Nadia re�red from gymnas�cs in 1981.

She became involved in gymnas�c coaching and administra�on in Romania a�er her re�rement.

She is married. She is involved in many Olympic and other sports ac�vi�es, suppor�ng the development of

sport. She has wri�en a few books. She is a television commentator and involved in television documentaries.

She is involved in many charity organiza�ons and the Nadia Comaneci Founda�on in Romania.

Under extremely difficult circumstances, Nadia

became an Olympic hero through dedica�on and

hard work. She is now using her talent to improve the

lives of underprivileged children and inspires people

through her life experience.

She and her husband are

involved in various

businesses. They are

mo�va�onal and

inspira�onal speakers

helping individuals and

companies.

During the period

1981 to 1989, she

was forbidden to

leave Romania

and her ac�ons

were constantly

monitored.

She fled the country in

the middle of the night,

on foot through the

snow, before the

revolu�on in 1989. She

became a USA ci�zen

during 2001.

"I'm not a dreamer for, you know, I want to go to the moon someday. I accomplished something when I was young which was much more than I expected to," Comaneci said. "My results were much bigger than I ever dreamed about it.”

“Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.”

“I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.”

“Other kids had more talent', she maintains, 'but I was the most focused.”

"It would be great if you could discover a way of working very li�le and being successful, but there isn't one."

References:h�p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Com%C4%83necih�p://www.bartandnadia.com/h�p://www2.lhric.org/pocan�co/womenenc/comaneci.htmh�p://www.aarp.org/poli�cs-society/history/info-07-

2010/where_are_they_now_nadia_comaneci.2.htmlh�p://www.biography.com/people/nadia-comaneci-9254240