How many perfect 10s did Nadia Comaneci get? All you need to know about the Romanian's Olympic exploits
Nadia Comăneci is one of the world's best-known gymnasts. While she has many achievements to her name, the standout moment in Comăneci's career was, undoubtedly, her perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics, which was the first time a gymnast had achieved the feat of a perfect score. After that initial 10, the Romanian finished with a perfect score eight more times in her career.
Nadia's first perfect ten came on July 18, at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. She scored ten for her routine on the uneven bars in the team event of the competition.
At the time that Nadia Comăneci was awarded her perfect ten, the Olympic scoreboard wasn't prepared for the possibility and instead ended up showing a score of 1.00. While the audience was left confused, judges rushed to confirm that the Romanian had indeed become the first person to score a perfect ten in gymnastics.
At the same Olympics, Comăneci went on to score six more 10s. Four of these (including the original) were on the uneven bars, while she earned the remaining three in the balance beam event.
Nadia Comăneci repeated the feat of scoring a perfect 10 twice more at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
Nadia Comăneci: Olympic and World Championship medal count
Nadia Comăneci first made headlines on the international stage in 1975, when she participated at the European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Norway. The then 13-year-old Nadia dominated the competition, winning gold in everything except the floor exercise event.
A year later, Comăneci participated at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. After her seven perfect 10s in the competition, she walked away with gold medals in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance-beam events. She settled for a silver in the team and a bronze in her floor exercise routine.
Her success at the Olympics made her the first Romanian to win an Olympic all-around title. She is also the youngest Olympic all-around champion, and given the fact that eligibility criteria no longer allow 14-year-old gymnasts at the Olympics, this record looks unlikely to be broken.
Nadia Comăneci won her first World Championship gold in 1978 at Strasbourg on the balance beam. She also earned a silver in the vault and team events the same year. She followed this up with another gold at the 1979 Fort Worth World Championships in the team event.
A year later, at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Nadia ended her campaign with two perfect tens and bagged two golds and two silvers.