Bela Karolyi, the gymnastics coach who trained Olympic superstars and helped to bring the USA to promimence in the sport, died Friday, November 15, at the age of 82, according to USA Gymnastics.
He leaves behind a controversial legacy due to the alleged strictness of his training methods, as well as his and wife Martha‘s association with former team doctor Larry Nassar, who is currenty serving life in prison for sexual assault.
Retired gymnast Dominique Mocenau, who was one of the athletes vocal about Karolyi’s allegedly abusive coaching methods in the past, including detailing his behavior in her 2012 memoir, took to X to pay a graceful tribute to her former coach acknowledging his polarizing legacy.
“Bela Karolyi was a man whose influence on my life and the sport of elite gymnastics is undeniably significant. He was a complex individual, embodying a mix of strengths and flaws that left a lasting impact on those around him. Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela’s guidance as my coach came with immense challenges. His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me,” she detailed.
“While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path,” she added. “As we bid farewell to Bela, I choose to send loving thoughts to his family and loved ones, and honor our relationship by embracing lessons learned and striving to help create a world where compassion and encouragement guide our actions. May he rest in peace.”
Karolyi and wife Martha also trained other world gymnastics champions in the U.S. and Romania, notably Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton. Comaneci posted to Instagram on Saturday a carousel of photos of herself and Karolyi, adding the caption “A big impact and influence in my life” with a heart emoji.
The Karolyis, who defected from Romania in 1981 to the United States in 1981, established their own gym in Houston within a year and turned out eight national champions in 13 years. Retton, in 1984, became the first American to win the Olympic all-around title, scoring a perfect 10 on vault and a gold medal at that year’s Games in Los Angeles.
Karolyi’s cause of death has not been disclosed, but he was said to have been in poor health in recent years. He and wife Martha largely retired from the spotlight following the Nassar scandal that rocked the gymnastics world in 2016.
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