Béla Károlyi

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Béla Károlyi (Hungarian: [ˈbeːlɒ ˈkaːroji]; September 13, 1942 – November 15, 2024) was a Romanian and American gymnastics coach of Hungarian descent. Early in his coaching career he developed the Romanian centralized training system for gymnastics. One of his earliest protégés was Nadia Comăneci, the first Olympic Games gymnast to be awarded a perfect score. Living under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, Károlyi frequently clashed with Romanian officials. He and his wife defected to the United States in 1981. After their arrival in the United States, Béla and his wife Márta Károlyi were credited with transforming the coaching of gymnastics in the U.S. and bringing major international success. They were coaches for the United States women's national gymnastics team, as well as national team coordinators for United States gymnastics at the Olympic Games. They were severely criticized for their coaching style, which many gymnasts have called abusive. They claimed to have been unaware...

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