"Loss that just feels huge";"Will never have anything nice to say about him or his wife"-Fans express their thoughts as Bela Karolyi passes away at 82

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Nov 17, 2024 08:00 GMT

Gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi has died at the age of 82. USA Gymnastics confirmed that the former coach died on November 15. Following news of his death, there have been many reactions and comments from fans, both positive and negative.

Karolyi played an instrumental role in two iconic Olympic moments, Nadia Comăneci's historic achievement of scoring the first perfect 10 in Olympic history and Mary Lou Retton claiming the women’s all-around gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Besides this, he was the coach of the USA's women's gold-medal winning team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. During the finals, he encouraged gymnast Kerri Strug to perform a vault despite her injured ankle. While Strug successfully landed the vault and contributed to the USA’s historic win, she was forced to retire from gymnastics as she was unable to fully recover from the injury sustained during the Games.

Karolyi's passing away has generated mixed reactions among the gymnastics community.

A gymnastics fan noted that Karolyi had a significant impact on the sport, both positive and negative, saying:

“Wow. It’s hard to explain the amount of influence one can have on a sport, for good and for (and after so much) ill, but Bela completely shaped and altered both USA gymnastics and the sport as a whole. The good and the bad. A loss that just feels *huge*, in every way.”

Another gymnastics fan criticized Bela Karolyi and his wife and accused them of exploiting young gymnasts for personal gain.

“Bela Karolyi came to this country to exploit and destroy its young women for personal gain, and on top of that allowed a predator access to vulnerable people. I will never have anything nice to say about him or his wife.”

Bela and his wife Martha were coaches of the USA team when disgraced ex-coach Larry Nassar was part of US Gymnastics, but both denied having any knowledge regarding his wrongdoing.

Another fan expressed disappointment at "people trying to make Karolyi a saint," despite his rigorous training practices:

“I’m disappointed at all of the people who are now trying to make bela karolyi a saint. HE WAS ABUSIVE TO CHILDREN! And for what? Olympic golds?!! The victims have to heal knowing that he suffered zero consequences and that’s a shame.”

Here are some more fan reactions:

“I am broken hearted!!! Although he wasn't perfect, I have great admiration for all that he accomplished. Let's take his amazing goals and achieve them with modern methods", a fan said.

“Devastated to hear that Bela Karolyi died, at 82, disgraced. Sad he’s not around to scream at himself for not sticking the landing,” another fan chimed in.

“Just found out Bela Karolyi died dont talk to me for a while oh my god :(” another fan wrote.

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Nadia Comaneci pays tribute to Bela Karolyi on his death

Nadia Comaneci at the 2024 Laureus World Sport Awards in Madrid - Source: Getty

Nadia Comaneci paid tribute to her former coach Bela Karolyi after he died on Friday. She took to X to acknowledge his "influence" in her life, saying:

"A big impact and influence in my life RIP Bela Karolyi🙏🙏🙏"

Besides Comaneci, Dominique Moceanu, the retired American gymnast, also spoke about the influence that Karolyi had on her gymnastics career, recognizing both his strengths and his flaws on X. She was also a member of the gymnastics team that won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games.