"Shake it off! You can do it!" - When Bela Karolyi pushed Kerri Strug to clinch a gold medal for USA despite an ankle injury at Atlanta Olympics

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Nov 17, 2024 11:55 GMT

Bela Karolyi's most iconic defining career moment came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when the American squad clinched their first-ever gold medal in the team event. His powerful and commanding words to Kerri Strug were arguably the catalyst for the team's victory. Leaving a significant mark on the sport, the former Romanian and American gymnastics teams' coach passed away on November 14, 2024, at 82.

At the 1996 Atlanta Games, the American squad, comprising elite gymnasts such as Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, and Strug was leading over the Russian squad with a thread-thin margin in the women's team event, when Moceanu fell short of making a successful vault landings twice.

The burden of the much-anticipated first Olympic medal for the team fell on Strug, who failed to stick a landing on the first attempt, severely injuring her leg. The then 18-year-old injured her left ankle and tumbled backward onto her rear end, leading to two ligament tears.

However, as the concern grew that the Russian squad could steal the lead and win the gold medal once again, Strug turned to Karolyi and asked:

“Do we need this?”

To which, Karolyi, in his unyielding approach said:

"Kerri, we need you to go one more time. We need one more time for gold. Shake it off! You can do it! You better do it!”

Unfazed by the devastating injury, Strug hobbled to the runway, launching herself into the air, and landed a perfect Yurchenko with a 1 ½ twist, leading the team to the top place on the podium for the first time. Following the victory, Karolyi was seen carrying Strug in what has since become an iconic photograph.

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Nadia Comaneci and Dominique Moceanu offer tribute to former coach Bela Karolyi as he passes away at 82

Coach Bela Karolyi of the USA speaks to the media during a USA - USSR gymnastics meet in 1988 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Getty Images)

Nadia Comaneci penned a heartfelt tribute to her former coach Bela Karolyi under whose guidance she clinched nine Olympic medals and scored seven perfect tens, redefining the level of excellence in the sport.

She shared a few not-seen-before pictures along with the late coach, including him mentoring her and taking a walk in the woods, and wrote:

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

Retired American gymnast Dominique Moceanu, who was a part of the "Magnificient Seven," securing a gold medal at the Atlanta Games, also drafted a respectful homage.

"Bela Karolyi was a man whose influence on my life and the sport of elite gymnastics is undeniably significant. He was a complex individual, embodying a mix of strengths and flaws that left a lasting impact on those around him."

She added:

"As we bid farewell to Bela, I choose to send loving thoughts to his family and loved ones, and honor our relationship."

Apart from Comaneci and Moceanu, Bela Karolyi shaped the path for Mary Lou Retton too.