Béla Károlyi, the gymnastics coach who rose to prominence by training Olympic all-around champions Nadia Comăneci and Mary Lou Retton, has died at 82, USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday night.
The governing body for the sport in the United States said Károlyi died on Friday, though the cause of death was not immediately clear.
Károlyi and his wife, Márta, ascended to the top of the American gymnastics scene in the late 1980s and early ‘90s by coaching multiple gymnasts to international success, but saw their reputations swiftly fall apart as they faced allegations of abusing athletes amid the cutthroat and tension-filled pursuit of victory.
After retiring from coaching in 1996, the couple extended their influence over USA Gymnastics when Béla Károlyi was appointed the organization’s first national team coordinator in 1999. Marta Károlyi took over the role in 2001 and remained in the position until 2016. Her tenure overlapped with the employment of Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar, a national team doctor who sexually assaulted over 150 women and girls, in part while working as a physician at a training center in Texas owned and operated by the Karolyis.
The Károlyis denied knowledge of the abuse. In 2018, USA Gymnastics cut ties with the training center, known as the Karolyi Ranch, where instances of abuse occurred.
The Károlyis themselves also faced criticism from athletes, including 1996 Olympic gold medalist Dominic Moceanu and former Romanian gymnast Gabriela Geiculescu, for limiting food intake, forcing athletes to train while injured and cultivating an emotionally abusive environment.
Several prominent gymnasts shared posts addressing Károlyi’s passing, including Comăneci, three-time Olympic gold medalist Svetlana Boginskaya and Moceanu.
“Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela’s guidance as my coach came with immense challenges,” Moceanu said. “His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me. While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path.”
Before defecting to the United States in 1981, Bela, originally from Kolozsvár, Hungary (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania), coached the Romanian team, including Comăneci, the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in the Olympic Games under the old scoring system.
With Marta, he began coaching at a private gymnastics club in Houston shortly after their move. He coached a parade of famous gymnasts, including Kim Zmeskal, the first American woman to win gold in the all-around at a world championship, and Julianne McNamara, the 1984 uneven bars Olympic champion.
But perhaps the most famous image of Károlyi came during the 1996 Games, when he held Kerri Strug in his arms after she vaulted on an injured ankle and landed on one foot in Atlanta, to secure the USA’s first Olympic team gold in women’s gymnastics.
(Photo: David Madison / Getty Images)
