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Legendary Olympic Gymnastics Coach Has Passed Away At 82

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Nov 16, 2024 10:22 PM ET

The gymnastics world lost one of its all-time great coaches this week as Hall of Famer Bela Karolyi passed away. He was 82 years old.

USA Gymnastics announced on Saturday that Karolyi passed away on Friday. The organization highlighted the impact he had on the U.S. Olympic team, including many of the most successful gymnasts of the 1980s and 1990s.

"A member of five U.S. Olympic Team staffs, Karolyi was the personal coach of some of the most successful U.S. athletes of the 1980s and ’90s, including USA Gymnastics Hall of Famers Dianne Durham, Julianna McNamara, Phoebe Mills, Dominique Moceanu, Betty Okino, Kristie Phillips, Kerri Strug, Mary Lou Retton, and Kim Zmeskal," USA Gymnastics said in a statement.

Born in Romania, Karolyi started coaching gymnastics while he was still in college with one of his first students being the legendary Nadia Comaneci. Working with Comaneci, he coached her to three gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal. His success in 1976 earned him the role of head coach of the entire Romanian gymnastics team at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, where Comaneci won two more golds and two silver medals.

A big impact and influence in my life RIP Bela Karolyi pic.twitter.com/KGzXXbfStl
— Nadia Comaneci (@nadiacomaneci10) November 16, 2024

The year after, Karolyi defected to the United States where he would set up a new gymnastics coaching school. He soon took Mary Lou Retton and Julianne McNamara as his students, who would combine to deliver two gold medals and eight total medals for the United States at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Over a career spanning 40-plus years, Karolyi's gymnasts would win nine Olympic gold medals, fifteen world championships, sixteen European championships, and six U.S. national championships.

For his efforts, Karolyi was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997. He and his wife Marta were inducted into the US Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2000.

Our hearts go out to Karolyi's family and loved ones.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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