chapter 1 A PERFECT 10 When Nadia Comăneci dismounted from the uneven parallel bars after her routine she thought she had done very well Comăneci was competing at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal Canada She was only 14 years old at the time She wasn’t prepared for what happened next because it was one of the most remarkable moments in Olympic history Comăneci was already preparing for the next event But then she heard the noise from the crowd The young gymnast from Romania turned to see what all the fuss was about Nadia Comăneci performs on the uneven parallel bars at the 1976 Olympics 4
Comăneci’s eyes landed on the scoreboard It read 1 00 It appeared to be the worst score an Olympic gymnast had ever seen But it was not It was the best score a perfect 10 The scoreboard was not able to post 10 00 because it could only fit three numbers Before the Olympics had started that year the organizers were asked if the scoreboard would need to have room for four numbers They said they did not think it was necessary But on July 18 1976 Comăneci Comăneci right cheers on the podium after being awarded a gold medal 6
proved them wrong She had made history as the first gymnast to receive a perfect score at the Olympics Comăneci captured a total of seven perfect 10s during her time in Montreal She was flawless in her four appearances on the uneven bars Her other three perfect scores came on the balance beam She won the gold medal in both events as well as in the all-around competition Her Romanian team won silver and Comăneci also snagged a bronze medal for her floor routine Her performance at the Olympics made Comăneci an international star Her picture appeared on the covers of magazines around the world Her name was added to the Guinness Book of World Records OTHER PERFECT 10S While Comăneci got most of the attention she was not the only gymnast to earn a perfect score during the 1976 Olympics Nellie Kim 7
