Bela Karolyi, coach of Olympic champion gymnasts who was criticized after Nassar scandal, dies at 82
Associated PressBela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, has died. Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics women’s elite program in 1999 and incorporated a semi-centralized system that eventually turned the Americans into the sport’s gold standard. While the Karolyis approach helped the U.S. become a superpower — an American woman has won each of the last six Olympic titles and the U.S. women earned the team gold at the 2012 and 2016 Games under Martha Karolyi’s leadership — their methods came under fire. Three years after the Karolyis left Romania, Retton became the first American to win the Olympic all-around title, scoring a perfect 10 on vault to claim gold at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. And in 1991, Kim Zmeskal — “the little Kimbo,” as Bela Karolyi called her — became the first American to win the world all-around title.
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Béla Károlyi, demanding gymnastics coach who guided Nadia Comăneci to perfect 10s and Olympic golds
The Telegraph
Bela Karolyi, former coach of Comaneci and US team, dies aged 82
The Hindu
Bela Karolyi, legendary and controversial gymnastics coach, dies at 82
NPR
Bela Karolyi, the polarizing coach who helped launch gymnasts to Olympic stardom, dies at 82
CNN
Bela Karolyi, controversial gymnastics coach who mentored Olympic champions, dies at 82
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