INDIANAPOLIS – USA Gymnastics has learned of the passing of hall of fame gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi on Friday, November 15. He was 82.
Born Sept. 13, 1942, Karolyi and his wife Marta defected to the United States from Romania in 1981, having coached five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci among other Romanian gymnasts.
A member of five U.S. Olympic Team staffs, Karolyi was the personal coach of some of the most successful U.S. athletes of the 1980s and ’90s, including USA Gymnastics Hall of Famers Dianne Durham, Julianna McNamara, Phoebe Mills, Dominique Moceanu, Betty Okino, Kristie Phillips, Kerri Strug, Mary Lou Retton, and Kim Zmeskal.
He served as U.S. Women’s National Team coordinator from November 1999 through January 2001 and continued to be involved in the sport after Marta assumed duties as National Team coordinator from 2001-2016.
Karolyi was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1997, and he was inducted along with Marta into USA Gymnastics’ Hall of Fame in 2000 as a coaching team.