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Bela Karolyi

2000 USA Gymnastics Women's National Team Coordinator Bela Karolyi was born in Cluj, Romania. He has become the most successful coach in the history of gymnastics. His coaching efforts have produced 28 Olympians, nine Olympic Champions, 15 World Champions, 12 European medalists and six U.S. National Champions in 30 years of coaching gymnastics in both his native Romania and the United States. Among his most accomplished gymnasts are Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, Kim Zmeskal, Kerri Strug and Dominique Moceanu. Bela and his wife, Martha, defected to the United States during an exhibition tour in 1981. He worked menial jobs to support them at first, but within one year they were coaching gymnastics once again in Oklahoma. Shortly thereafter, Bela was approached by a group of businessmen with an offer to coach at a private gym in Houston. When the group faced financial difficulties in October of 1982, Karolyi convinced them to sell the gym to him and built built it into a cornerstone of the American gymnastics movement. The results speak for themselves. In 1991, he led the U.S. team to a silver medal finish at the World Championships, the first team medal the U.S. women had ever won in World Championships competition. His gymnast, Kim Zmeskal, also won the all-around title,... Next

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