TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Champion Gymnasts 4 Chapter 1 Journey to the Mat 8 Chapter 2 Great Moments 14 Chapter 3 Big Wins 20 Chapter 4 And the Winner is 24 Smackdown Breakdown 28 Glossary 30 Index 31
INTRODUCTION CHAMPION GYMNASTS The 1976 Summer Olympics took place in Montreal Canada Gymnast Nadia Comaneci was only 14 when she competed for her home country of Romania But her age did not stop her from making history Nadia Comaneci FAST FACTS Nadia Comaneci won five Olympic gold medals Comaneci was the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 score at the Olympics Simone Biles won 32 medals combined at the World Championships and Olympic Games Biles won four gold medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Comaneci competed on the uneven bars in the team competition During team competitions teams from different countries compete against one another When it was her turn to begin Comaneci ran toward the uneven bars She leaped over the lower bar and grabbed the higher one Then she gracefully flipped and switched directions before moving several times between the two bars Comaneci then performed a flawless handstand Her finish included a flip over the lower bar and a perfect landing Before the judges revealed their scores people watching on TV called the routine perfect Moments later the judges awarded her a perfect score of 10 A perfect 10 had never been achieved at the Olympics The scoreboard couldn't even display the score correctly It read 1.00 instead of 10 Comaneci won three gold medals at the Montreal Games and five total gold medals in her amazing career
