Gymnastics coach who trained Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton and was linked to Nassar scandal dies at 82
The legendary gymnastics coach died Friday, according to USA Gymnastics.
Bela Karolyi, best known for training legends Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton, has died aged 82.
No cause of death was given.
Karolyi and wife Martha have coached many Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the US and Romania, including Comaneci and Retton.
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“A huge influence and impact on my life,” Comaneci, who was just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold in Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on Instagram.
Romanian Nadia Comaneci, center, and Soviet Nellie Kim, right, were awarded perfect 10 points during the 1976 Olympics. Comaneci defeated Kim in the all-around final. (Getty Images)
The Karolys defected to the United States in 1981 and, over the next 30-plus years, became a guiding force in American gymnastics, though not without controversy. Bela helped guide a 16-year-old Retton to an Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug off the floor at the 1996 Games in Atlanta after her vault Strug's found gold for the Americans. .
Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for the USA Women's elite program in 1999 and put together a middle-of-the-road program that eventually turned the Americans into the gold standard of the game. It didn't come without a cost. He was fired after the 2000 Olympics after several athletes spoke out about his tactics.
US gymnast Mary Lou Retton performed in the 1980s. (Robert Riger/Getty Images)
It wouldn't be the last time Karolyi was accused of taking the lead and pushing his athletes too far physically and mentally.
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During the Larry Nassar scandal in the late 2010s, more than a dozen former trainers came forward to say that Karolyis was part of a system that created a culture that allowed Nassar's behavior to continue unchecked for years.
Nassar, the doctor for the disgraced USA Gymnastics team, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing gymnasts and other athletes under the guise of drugs.
I Department of Justice agreed in April to pay $138.7 million to settle 139 claims by those who accused the FBI of mishandling sexual harassment allegations against Nasar in 2015 and 2016.
Nassar worked at Michigan State University and was a team physician at USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis. Several current and former athletes, incl Simone BilesMcKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols, testified at a 2021 Senate hearing that the FBI failed to follow up on their complaints against him.
Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar appeared in court for his final sentencing in Eaton County Circuit Court on Feb. 5, 2018, in Charlotte, Mich. (Rena Laverty/AFP via Getty Images)
Michigan State University they agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women who were abused. USA Gymnastics and the US Paralympic Committee agreed to pay $380 million.
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In total, $1 billion has been set aside by various organizations to compensate Nassar's victims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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