Exclusive Interview with Nadia Comaneci Olympic Gold medal Gymnast Winner 2005,
U.N. Delegate Dining Room

gloria LN: Your name for the record?
NC: Nadia Comaneci

LN: At what age did you start doing gymnastics in Rumania?
NC: At six year old.

LN: What was your inspiration to get involved in gymnastics?
NC: I liked doing the flips. I had the skill. That’s what attracted me.

LN: What kind of amateur titles have you won prior to becoming a great Olympian?
NC: I won numerous titles throughout Romania and the world prior to winning the Olympics.

LN: What was the year of the Olympic games you first participated in?
NC: The first Olympic games I participated in were the 1976 Olympics, where I won five medals.

LN: What did it feel like to have been the first individual ever in the history of Olympic gymnastics to get a perfect 10 score?
NC: I became famous, just like anyone else who had a great accomplishment in their life.

LN: What made you move from Rumania to the United States?
NC: I just wanted to look for a change, and a different life.

LN:      Are you married, and if so, how long?
NC:      I’m married for eight years. I don’t have any kids yet.

LN:      I understand you have an academy here in the U.S. Where it is based?
NC:      It is based in Norman, Oklahoma

LN: What is your academy all about?
NC: My husband used to have it. It’s called the Bar College Academy. It belonged to my husband before he married me. We have 1,000 kids. They do gymnastics for fun. They compete and get scholarship educations, and, if they want to go on to compete in the Olympics, we can offer them that as well.

LN: Did you have any students who made the Olympics?
NC: Last year, we only had one boy who made the Olympic team.

LN: As a gymnast, how do you keep yourself in shape? What kind of exercise and/or diet do you have to maintain?
NC: Well, I’m retired now, but when I was performing, I worked out for about 7 hours a day.

LN:      What about the diet? Did you have any particular diet schedule to follow?
NC:      Actually, we had a doctor that was in charge of our menus.
LN:      How many Olympic medals, in total, have you won?
NC:      I’ve won nine medals

LN: What is your predominant involvement with Olympic competition? Is it more the training aspect?
NC: No, we’re more involved in promoting the sports, and doing promotions with many different companies attending events. We own the academy, but don’t coach, because we’re seldom, if ever, there. We have 35 coaches whom we hired to do the coaching.

LN: I think, at one point, you did some commentating in the sports field…Do you still do that?

LN: Occasionally, Fox Sports and ESPN. During Olympic games, do they bring you in as a noted authority in the field of Olympics, to, perhaps, get your opinion?
NC: No. He buys the rights of the competition, produces the show, and we commentate on that. Then we sell it to the cable.

LN: Aside from gymnastics, what are some of your hobbies?
NC: My hobbies are fashion.

LN: By fashions, do you mean design or wear?
NC: I don’t design, but I have a good feel for it, and I like to wear fashions.

LN: Who is one of your favorite designers?
NC: I wear an assortment, of combinations, but particularly enjoy wearing designer shoes—mostly by Italian designers, like Gucci and Sergio Rossi. I have a personal shop that puts together a lot of clothing for me, called BB store.

LN: What kind of traveling do you do? What is your favorite place of travel.
NC: I like to go to my other house in Venice beach, Los Angeles.

LN: What about European countries?
NC: I go to Paris, and to Romania every two months.

LN: What is your favorite food?
NC: Fish, seafood—any kind of fish or seafood.

LN: What is your favorite movie or television show?
NC: I like the new ABC sitcom, called Desparate Housewives.

LN: What kind of advice would you give to an upcoming or aspiring male or female Olympic gymnast.
NC: Pretty much the same advice I would give to someone who wants to be successful in business—You need to like what you do. You have to be passionate about it. You have to expect to encounter some difficult times. Never give up when things are at their hardest.

LN: What kind of charities are close to your heart, that you like to donate your time to?
NC: The two predominant charities that I’m involved with are the MDA and the Special Olympics. I’m a vice chair of the special Olympics. I’m traveling tomorrow to Japan for the winter games.

LN: What is your reason for being attracted to these two charities?
NC: I was just introduced to those charities. I believe that it’s better to devote more of your time to one or two than devoting a few minutes to many different ones.

LN: What is your opinion of the Olympics. As an expert, do you feel that New York has a good chance of becoming a host of the Olympic games?
NC: Every city has something to offer. So, different people from different cities will each come up with a reason why their city is the best candidate. To me, New York seems like a very international place—a lot of people from all over the world live here. There were even Romanians in the security when we got to the United Nations. You have a couple of people from Spain, and a couple of people from Columbia, and so on. They will all feel at home here in New York.

One of the great Olympic champions of the past. Nadia trained as a gymnast since age 6. At the Montreal Olympics she was only 14 years old. During the team conmpetition she made history by being the first gymnast to receive perfect scores of 10 for her performances in the uneven bars and on the alance beam. Overall she gained seven 10s in the competition. Four years later, at the Moscow Olympics she again was looking to win gold but just missed














Gloria smith is a School teacher for the past 25 years based here in Queens NY,with a masters degree in Education, she loves to travel allover the world, & writes about different topics,on International Business, Cultural events, & All Kind of Women Issues. & Events pertaining to women of all nationalitys.If you are interested in having Gloria cover one of your events,please send an email 1 week inadvance, @ LNGloria@hadofnyc.org or tel: 718 507 7616 between 8am to 8pm EST.