Gymnasts led countless Olympic gold medalists

Bela Karolyi, the legendary gymnastics coach who coached stars including Mary Lou Retton and Nadia Comaneci to victory at multiple Olympic Games, has died. He was 82.

USA Gymnastics confirmed in a statement on Saturday, November 16 that Bela – who trained with his wife, Martha Karolyi – had died. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Comaneci, 63, also confirmed the news to USA todayand told the outlet that the late coach had “changed my life forever.”

“Almost 50 years ago, he guided me to the historic performance of the First Perfect 10 in the Olympics … and it changed my life forever,” Comaneci said of Bela, adding that he died on Friday, November 15.

In one Instagram post, Comaneci – who was 14 when she and Bella took home a gold medal for Team Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics – also shared a black-and-white photo of herself as a child with Bella, captioning the photo: “A big influence and impact on my life.”

Similarly, Bella coached a 16-year-old Retton to victory at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and had a memorable moment at the 1996 Atlanta Games when he was photographed helping Kerri Strug off the floor after an injury.

Before defecting from Romania in 1981, Bella and his wife, 82, trained stars such as Comaneci. But after they came under pressure from the Romanian government to promote “the power of the communist system” in their gym, as Bela told Time in 2012 the couple fled to the United States and were granted asylum.

The Karolyis opened a clinic in Texas, and they eventually underwent the American approach to the sport of gymnastics, successfully taking command of the national team nearly 16 years ago. Bela even briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics’ women’s program in 1999, per Associated Pressand implemented a system that put Team USA on the map.

By 1997, Bella had been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and in 2000 he and Martha were inducted together into USA Gymnastics’ Hall of Fame as a coaching team.

However, Bella’s great career was not without controversy. He and Martha were hit with scandal after it was revealed that Dr. Larry Nassar abused girls at his training facility in Texas. When the charges against Nassar were made public in 2016, the couple were accused of ignoring the abuse that took place on their 200-acre ranch in Huntsville, Texas.

Former gymnast Jeanette Antolin claimed Karolyis knew Nassar abused her inside his cabin, and the allegations later led to a lawsuit from the couple, who maintained they were never told Nassar’s abuse was sexual in nature.

More than 250 women and girls have accused Nassar of assault, including Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas.

An attorney for the Karolyis denied any allegations against the couple in 2017, saying in a statement to PEOPLE: “The Karolyis were not aware of any complaint by anyone regarding any athlete’s alleged mistreatment by Dr. Nassar until they learned of his dismissal from USA Gymnastics during the summer of 2015.”

Per the AP, the pair were also accused of creating a toxic and abusive culture for the young gymnasts they coached during their years under the Team USA training program — even though some of their staunchest defenders were their most successful students and mentees.

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Dominique Moceanu, who became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in USA gymnastics history at age 14 under Bella’s tutelage, shared a lengthy statement reflecting on his life and legacy in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on 16 Nov.

“Bela Karolyi was a man whose influence on my life and the sport of elite gymnastics is undeniably significant,” she wrote. “He was a complex individual who embodied a mix of strengths and weaknesses that left a lasting impact on those around him.”

“Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela’s guidance as my coach came with enormous challenges,” she continued. “His harsh words and critical behavior often weighed heavily on me. While our relationship was fraught with difficulties, some of these difficult moments helped me create and define my own path.”

“As we say goodbye to Bela, I choose to send loving thoughts to his family and loved ones and honor our relationship by embracing experiences and striving to help create a world where compassion and encouragement guide our actions,” Moceanu continued. “May he rest in peace.”