Legendary and Controversial Gymnastics Coach Béla Károlyi Passes Away at 82 – A Look Back at His Harsh Yet Historic Legacy

According to USA Gymnastics, Bela Karolyi, the troubled but accomplished gymnastics coach who guided young women to the Olympics’ top levels of the sport, passed away at the age of 82. According to a statement from USA Gymnastics, Karolyi passed away on Friday. The reason of death was not stated. Numerous gymnasts who would go on to become famous were taught by Karolyi and his wife Martha, who left Romania in 1981, notably American Mary Lou Retton and Romanian Nadia Comaneci.

Karolyi trained 16-year-old Retton to two silvers and two bronzes at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, just three years after Retton defected. Her performance and her broad, beaming smile won her praise from all around the world, and she soon became a national celebrity after being featured on the cover of a Wheaties cereal box. Karolyi coached Dominique Moceanu, who, along with Kerri Strug, was a member of the U.S. squad that became known as the “Magnificent 7” in 1996.

During a performance as a member of the gold-winning U.S. team, Karolyi memorably carried Strug off the mat after she tore two ligaments in her left ankle while landing a vault. Karolyi was chastised for pushing her to vault on her damaged ankle, but Strug thought the U.S. required her performance to win, which was untrue. Strug backed the coach at the time and would replay the scenario with Karolyi at her wedding.

Following the 1996 Games, Strug remarked, “Bela is a very tough coach and he gets criticism for that,” But becoming a champion requires that. I don’t think it’s appropriate for everyone to focus on Bela’s shortcomings. To succeed in everything in life, you must put in a lot of effort.

Karolyi guided Comaneci, a Romanian, to gold at the 1976 Montreal Games when she was barely 14 years old. She was one of the team’s oldest players when the Karolyis arrived in Montreal that year. The coach gained international recognition for gymnastics thanks to those Games. A five-time Olympic gold medallist, Comaneci wrote on Instagram, “A big impact and influence on my life,” “RIP Bela Karolyi. However, many of his former students claimed that the Karolyi’s severe training methods, which verged on abuse, led to criticism.

Even when he would embrace them after their workouts, they claimed he would call them names and make disparaging remarks about their weight, pushing them to and frequently beyond their physical and mental limits. “A lot of those big bear hugs came with the whisper of ‘Not so good,’ in our ears,” wrote Retton. Long after Karolyi’s retirement, Retton joined her at gymnastics competitions. After former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nasser entered a guilty plea to sexually abusing gymnasts and other athletes with his hands while claiming to be providing medical treatment, so earning him a life sentence in prison, the Karolyis came under growing criticism.

The Karolyis were part of a system that produced an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar’s behavior to go undetected for years, according to more than a dozen former gymnasts who came forward. After Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the world, blasted USA Gymnastics for using the renowned Karolyi Ranch north of Houston to train competitors who claimed to have been sexually abused, the organization eventually canceled its arrangement to continue training there. After years of failure prior to his arrival, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team achieved exceptional success because to Karolyi’s training methods, which he remained steadfast in. “My attitude… is never to be satisfied,” he previously stated in an interview with Texas Monthly. “Never enough, never.”