I made the cover of 'Sports Illustrated,' 'Newsweek' and 'Time' all in one week, and I didn't even know what that meant.
— Nadia Comaneci
When I got married in Bucharest, there were 10,000 people on the street. People didn't go to work that day. It was emotional to see how people care about you. I didn't expect that.
I think a lot of people don't actually know me. They think, 'She's like this,' or, 'She's like that.' They say I have no emotions - I do, but you couldn't see them then. I had to keep them inside.
Two days after returning from Montreal, I was training again, and I went on to win two more golds at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
The - I don't want to say older, but the more experienced I get, I treasure and I honor what I've done much more.
To me, family is what is important. If you don't have it, nothing is going to matter.
I am very highly appreciated in my country, and everybody seems to love me.
It's very hard to get to the top. It's hardest to stay at the top.
In Montreal, I kept thinking, 'Pay attention: this is the Olympics! It only happens once every four years!'
We only had white socks in Romania. But when I used to come back from the States, I used to bring back pink and yellow socks with all kind of designs, and hair clips and elastic bands for the ponytail that had colourful designs.
Gymnastics was my way to travelling the world.
I had more pressure when I competed in Moscow. I had no pressure in Montreal because I only went to do my routines and hoping I didn't mess it up when I was on the bar. When I came back, 10,000 people were at the airport and I thought, 'Why?' because, in my mind, I hadn't done anything different from what I used to do in my gym.
At some particular time, when I was 14 years old, I've done something that people didn't expect.
At 14, you think you compete, you retire and you get a job. I didn't think gymnastics was a career that was going to change my life.
I know my life story sounds too extraordinary to be true.
I always say, 'When the Olympics are happening, you shouldn't be in any other place in the planet - you should be here.'
We developed a system in Romania that was very successfully continued for a number of years, but I don't know if it was because of some conflict in the organisation or whether there was government interference... but somehow, they have forgotten the importance of raising gymnasts to be ready for every Olympics.
See, when I went to the Olympics in '76, the gymnastics people knew that I was good, but everybody else, after I won, everybody was like, 'Where's she coming from? Who is she? What is Romania?'
I wasn't allowed to leave Romania. That made me mad. You just want your freedom. You want your space. You want opportunity.
I come from a communist country. We learned nothing of lawyers, nothing about rights.
It was my mother who got me involved in gymnastics, sending me to classes when I was six just to stop me doing back flips on the couch and destroying the furniture.
If I have a feeling of not trusting, I don't get too close.
I like risky stuff.
Of course I used to smile and laugh in 1976, but not when I was competing. Please show me somebody who laughs when they are concentrating; I always smiled.
I like seeing advanced acrobatics, but I also like to see more than tumbling. It's important to combine the artistry of gymnastics with the tough skills. It's called artistic gymnastics. We should stand by the name.
Yes, gymnasts aim for perfection, but I never thought about the score. If that's what's in your mind, it will probably mess you up.
Scoring the first 10 in history was a big deal, but the fact that even an electronic scoreboard could not figure out how to put out a score, it made the story more historic.
Gymnastics should be popular everywhere; you just need the right person to start the right programme.
People ask me what the definition of perfection, I said it's none: there is no definition of perfection.
I didn't know I wanted to be a gymnast; I was just introduced to the gym. I loved the place because it looked like a hi-tech playground with mats and a lot of things I can hang from.
I remember before the Olympics, I was asked, 'What do you think you're going to do in the Olympics?' and I said, 'I'm hoping I'm going to win a medal, and, if possible, it's going to be a gold one.'
Other kids had more talent, but I was the most focused.
I was a perfectionist in gymnastics.
It's like someone important is missing from a party because you can't imagine an Olympic gymnastics competition without Romania.
I like Oklahoma. It's a quiet place. You can work, and nobody disturbs you.
Gymnastics is so huge in the Olympics. There are a lot of fans who want to see more.
After retiring from competition in 1981, I did exhibitions and coached.
People always accused me of not smiling like my rival Olga Korbut, but that was just my personality. When you're balancing on a nine-inch beam, you have to concentrate. But if you look back at the footage, I was always smiling and waving at the crowd after my performances.
When I was 14, I had no pressure. I was a kid, and I didn't understand all the attention.
I like America. I don't want to hurt America.
What makes me happy is the appreciation of people around me.
Romania doesn't have a big tradition of gymnastics as a fun activity. We were a little behind in this aspect.
We used to exchange leotards with gymnasts from other countries. I don't remember who I got my most prized leotard from, but it was one with a lot of stars on it.
I am not a perfect 10 anymore. I can only try my best.
People think you have pressure when you are young. It's the other way round, actually.
I think that when you are on a four-inch balance beam, you don't care about laughing or smiling or waving to the crowd because you're going to be down in a second.
I thought I was going to retire at 20, and I was going to be a surgeon.
I remember everything from 1976. I remember I was 14, and I remember my routines.
Every generation comes with a unique athlete, I don't think anybody wants to be the next Nadia; they want to be themselves.
Uchimura is the greatest of all time.
