Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comăneci, the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games, celebrated her 65th birthday on Thursday with a special message to Deșteptarea, the regional newspaper that first wrote about her career more than five decades ago.
In a letter dated November 5, Comăneci expressed her gratitude to the newspaper and paid tribute to the late sports journalist Ștefan Olteanu, who first reported on her achievements in October 1969, when the publication was known as Steagul Roșu.
„I remember the late journalist Ștefan Olteanu with infinite gratitude and respect,” Comăneci wrote. „Having writers who believe in you before the whole world knows you is a priceless gift for an athlete.”
Olteanu’s 1969 article, titled The Girl Who Can Only Win at Home, described the young gymnast’s early struggles with nerves when competing away from her familiar training environment.
He later chronicled her rise to international fame in a book originally written in 1976 but prevented from publication by communist censorship. The volume was eventually released in 2021 under the title Nadia, Miss Perfect.
Born in Onești, Bacău County, on November 12, 1961, Comăneci made sporting history at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where she became the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in Olympic competition. She earned seven perfect scores during the Games and went on to win five Olympic gold medals across Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980.
Her first perfect 10, however, came before Montreal, at the Romanian National Championships held in Bacău on October 23, 1975, for her floor exercise.
The year 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of her historic Montreal performance and has been designated „Nadia Year” in Romania.
During a visit to her hometown on May 31, Comăneci reunited with members of Romania’s celebrated 1976 Olympic gymnastics team at an event called the Parade of Champions.
„It’s as if I had never left,” she said during the visit.
Romanian authorities have also approved a major redevelopment of the CSM Onești sports training complex, a project valued at approximately €24 million.
In her birthday message, Comăneci reflected on her enduring connection to her birthplace.
„Wherever my steps have taken me in this world, and however many unforgettable moments sport has given me, my thoughts always return with a special emotion to home, to Bacău County, to Onești, where my first childhood dreams were born,” she wrote.
She also thanked Deșteptarea for its longstanding support of local sport and its special anniversary edition dedicated to her life and career.
„I wish you to continue writing a beautiful history for Bacău, discovering new talents and remaining, generation after generation, the same clear voice of the community,” Comăneci said.
