Sovetsky Sport. July 1, 1992. Summer 1976. Montreal. The Olympic Games. Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci receives a score of 10. For the first time in the history of this sport. The three-time gold medalist has forever inscribed her name in the annals of gymnastics, becoming one of its symbols.
But Nadia has another destiny - outside her beloved gymnastics apparatus. Having left the sport, she unexpectedly made people talk about her again. This is a special story that turned her whole life upside down. She fled the dictatorship of Ceausescu, breaking out into a world where she was forbidden to enter alone under the watchful eye of the secret services.
A golden bird flew out of a golden cage... However, this cage was golden only on the outside for the eyes of the rest of the world. Looking inside was forbidden.
Many have written about Comaneci's escape to the West. Today she tells her amazing story to the Parisian daily 'l'Equipe Magazine.''
You once said, when you were still a Romanian gymnast, that your passionate desire was to run away from your country and go to the West. But I see they don't let you and therefore there is no official opportunity to leave and stay abroad. You could only visit Eastern European countries, the so-called socialist ones, and even then under the supervision of those in charge.
Yes, unfortunately that's true. The regime that ruled the country was catastrophically afraid of a scancal like: "Comaneci fled to the West." And so my traveling there was strictly forbidden. In 1984, I visited the West for the last time - in the USA for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Two years later, the European Championships took place in Moscow. This city became my last foreign destination.
Weren't you afraid to take that step?
You know, if the Ceausescu family were still alive and ruling Romania today, I would hardly even dare to make a simple trip from the US to Europe, let alone give you an interview now. But then?
Did you know about the planned coup d'etat that led to Ceausescu's resignation?
What are you saying? It all happened by chance. I jumped on the running board of the last train that was leaving for the West, for freedom.
After sometime, the figure of the mustachioed Constantin Panait appeared next to you in 'Western history.' What role did he play?
I can hardly please you with anything sensational besides what the foreign newspapers wrote. Everyone thinks that I owe my freedom to him, because he supposedly helped me escape from Romania. In fact, he got a good job and made money off my name, like a shopkeeper...
I really counted on Constantin's help. I thought he would hide me in his car and somehow try to talk to the customs officers into something, basically, to do something, by transporting me secretly. But everything turned out differently. I hid near the customs point on the Romanian-Hungarian border, where I spent six hours in a secret place and then, at my own risk, I began to get across the border by myself, afraid of running into the [guard] posts, of which there were quite a few everywhere. He, Panait, was calmly waiting for me in Hungary, on the other side of fear...
At one time, various newspapers and magazines, publishing the story of your disappearance, wrote that Ceausescu's son Nicu was in love with you, which caused you pain and torment...
I don't feel like talking too much about that story.
Why?
It's very simple. I signed an exclusive contract with Walt Disney and therefore am not allowed to divulge any intimate details related to Nicu Ceausescu.
Okay, but then say what you can say.
This connection arose because of the opportunity, already being an official gymnastics judge, to visit foreign countries. I was invited to various competitions, but each time there were problems with the visa. I think Nicu was aware of this to some extent, too. Maybe more than I think. Anyway, he came into my life by force... I didn't agree with what he wanted. For the first time, a girl from the people refused to have a relationship with him. The kind he wanted. So Nicu started to prevent me from living the way I wanted to live. Every time I started to like someone or I showed more sympathy to someone than to others, an agent of the Securitate - the security service - would immediately appear and explain to that person that it was undesirable to be involved with me. Silence quickly descended around me. And emptiness...
There were rumors that Nicu Ceausescu used physical violence against you. He pulled out your nails. Is that true?
Pulled out my nails? No, that's not true. The worst thing he could do to me was hang around. And the story about the nails is familiar to me. I read it when I was already in America. One of the journalists asked Nicu Ceausescu what he thought about my escape. He answered that if they had caught me, he could have torn out my fingernails in a rage...
Was he in love with you?
Yes, I think he was in love. Then, when you have power, you can do whatever you want. Whatever he wanted was immediately carried out by his guards. Nicu Ceausescu gradually turned into a lovesick idiot. A complete lunatic. But I think that if I hadn't refused him, he wouldn't have kept me around for so long. He got bored with everything quickly. However, when the film comes out, you'll see everything for yourself.
A few words about the film?
This is a film that will be released in the United States. I wrote the story. Naturally. And Walt Disney producer David Frost wrote the script.
Does the film's story end in Montreal?
Yes, of course. Where I live now. Here my life was finally returned to me. By Alexandru Stefu. He was my friend, my manager, and also the coach of the Romanian rugby team.
Why 'was'?
He died last summer. I was in Indianapolis at the world championships at the time.
How much did you have to pay Constantin Panait to escape from Romania?
$5,000.
Did you have that amount?
Of course not. I didn't have one dollar. I came to the States with a handkerchief in my pocket. And that's all. With a handkerchief to wipe away the tears.
So you paid Panait?
I understood perfectly well that the money had to be paid. Or I had to stay with him, at least for a while. I hoped to get a job and pay off the debt. I thought that it would be possible to stay at his house, where Panait's wife and children lived. But I hoped in vain. As soon as Panait saw that he could make money on my name, he began to exploit me. Moreover, very soon everything turned out in such a way that our relationship was opposed to his family affairs. I wanted to explain myself to his wife, to clarify the situation... Panait was thinking only about one thing: money, money, money. I was a simpleton, uncomplicated. And so I said right away, as soon as the newspapers started writing about my love affair with Panait: I don't want everyone to say that I'm ruining your family. That you left your wife and children for me. He answered me: yes, yes, we need to finish. It's time to break up.
And in reality?
He didn't even think of breaking up without filling his pockets with money. In general, it seems to me that they both exploited me very successfully. He and his wife. She raised a scandal in the press, drawing attention to herself. A lot of interviews about how I 'stole' her husband. And I couldn't reply to anything. I was afraid, I was afraid he would send me to Romania. He threatened to do this if I stopped saying what he wanted.
Why didn't you go to the police? It was blackmail, wasn't it?
Because I was afraid they wouldn't help me there. In my home country, the entire police force was corrupt. I was afraid. Panait was constantly hiding me from everyone, even beating me! This went on for three nightmarish months. It seemed to me that I had fled from Romania to Romania. But where else could I run?
And how did this nightmare end?
Alexander Stefu and the police found me. He offered Panait a large sum of money to let me go with him to Montreal. Panait loved money terribly. Perhaps it was the only thing he loved. I, in turn, could not confirm to Stefu that I needed help, because Panait was threatening me.
Why?
I was afraid. The three of us eventually moved to Montreal, but Panait had not yet given me freedom. He was with me all the time. Then one day I seized the moment and told Stefu that my life was in danger. Then Panait showed up. He understood right away. In particular, that I overcame my fear and told him something about him. The next day, without telling us, he took a taxi at 5am and left in an unknown direction.
Do you sometimes feel like gymnastics killed your childhood? You had no time to think about anything other than competitions?
Not at all. I didn't lose my childhood. I trained, but I also played with dolls. Gymnastics was a holiday for me. I even liked training more than competing. In general, I first seriously thought about competitions only in 1975 in Norway. That's where I won for the first time. It was the European championship. I was thirteen and a half years old.
Then came new victories. A year later - three golds, a silver, and a bronze medal at the Montreal Olympics. The first 10 in the history of gymnastics...
Yes, it happened on the uneven parallel bars. But, it seemed to me that I would get no more than 9.9... And then the wife of our coach Bela Karolyi shouted in my ear that I got 10, and that had never happened in the world before...
As far as I know, you are still training?
For an hour and a half a day. Today I try to do the same exercises as in 1976. My number is very difficult because it lasts 3 minutes 40 seconds. I start on the floor, then jump on the beam.
Are you performing in a show?
Yes. By the way, besides me, Peggy Fleming, Robin Cousins, Brian Orser, and Bart Conner perform there. Former gymnastics and figure skating stars. This show is popular. Lights, modern music... Up to 10,000 ticket are sold each time...