At the age of 74, after nearly half a century of coaching the world's best gymnasts, the legendary Martha Karolyi has officially joined her husband, Bela in retirement. It's been a long run for the Romanian duo, who's coaching journey began in the 70's when a young girl named
Nadia Comaneci was chosen to attend their new gymnastics school in Onesti, Romania after displaying a perfect cartwheel at school during recess. Under the guidance of Martha and Bela, Nadia became an icon for the sport of gymnastics. At the 1976 Olympic Games, Comaneci won five Olympic medals, three of which were gold, and was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in Olympic competition. The success of Nadia and the Romanian gymnastics program set the Karolyi's up with many opportunities once they defected to the United States in 1981, after all, everybody wanted to train with the coaches of Nadia Comaneci!
Barley a teenager,
Mary Lou Retton convinced her parents to let her move away from home to train with the Karolyi's once they settled in Houston, Texas. At a time where the sport was dominated by the Soviet Union, Mary Lou changed the face of gymnastics in America. At the 1984 Olympic Games, Mary Lou needed to score a perfect 10 on her final event, the vault, to win the first ever Olympic all-around title for an American women. In front of a home crowd, she did exactly that. Mary Lou was America's sweetheart and from there, a new standard was set for gymnastics in the United States. Enrollment to the Karoyli's gym multiplied by hundreds within just a few days--everybody wanted to be like Mary Lou.
In 1991, the Karoyli's coached
Kim Zmeskal to the United States first ever all-around World title, but after team USA won no gold medals at the Olympics the following year, Martha knew something needed to change. She recalled that in Romania, team unity was a major key to the team's success, after all, those gymnasts lived and trained together everyday. In the United States however, each gymnast had a personal coach and lived in different parts of the country. The only time the team would come together was when they were at the Olympics or a major international competition. There was never a bond or connection between the girls. In 1996, Martha was named the head coach of the Olympic team and ordered the team to train together as one in the weeks leading up to the games. Ultimately, Martha's philosophy of creating unity between the team had worked.
The Magnificent 7,
which included two gymnasts personally coached by the Karoyli's, won the team gold medal for the first time in the history of USA Gymnastics.
Following the 1996 Olympic Games, the Karoyli's stopped coaching individual athletes and created the system that is still used today for the US women. Every month, the best gymnasts in the country would come together to train at "The Ranch," a 2,000 acre ranch built by Bela himself. Following the 2000 Olympics, Bela retired, handing the national team program down to Martha. In the 16 years that Martha was the head of the women's gymnastics program, the story has only been of success and dominance on the US women's side. In 2003, the United States won their first gold medal as a team at the World Championships. The next year,
Carly Patterson became the first Olympic all-around champion since Mary Lou Retton won it in 1984. In 2008,
Nastia Liukin came from the same gym as Carly and also won the Olympic all-around title. By the 2012 Olympics, the United States was almost untouchable, winning the team competition for the first time since 1996 and with a margin of over five points. That team became known as the
Fierce 5 which included
Gabrielle Douglas, who continued the winning streak by becoming the first American women to win the all-around title and the team title in the same Olympics.
In Martha's final Olympic quadrennium, arguably the greatest gymnast of all time emerged-- ready to send Martha out on top.
Simone Biles won nearly every competition she competed in from 2013 to 2016, and in just three years she gathered 14 World medals, 10 of which are gold. At the 2016 Olympics, Martha's 11th and final Olympics, Simone Biles along with her teammates, dominated the competition as expected. They dubbed themselves the
Final Five, in honor of being Martha's final Olympic team.
From generation to generation, Martha Karolyi was the mastermind behind gymnastics history and Olympic success. From Nadia Comaneci to Simone Biles and all the legends in between, Martha's legacy will never be forgotten. While her days of coaching are now over, Martha and Bela have etched their names in the record books and will forever be pioneers for the sport.
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Martha with her first (left) and final (top) Olympic teams.
(Bottom right) Martha posing with the Walk of Fame wall at the Ranch |
We reached out to several gymnasts who trained with Martha Karoyli throughout the last 40 years. These are some of the memories they had to share.
Teodora Ungureanu | Romania
3-Time Olympic Medalist (1976)
"It was a great honor to have Martha as a coach. She taught me that hard work and discipline is the key to success. I was also happy to be apart of the USA National Team for four years [as the coach of World Champion Sabrina Vega] and show her that I can be a good coach too. I always admired her work ethic, she is the best coach in the world! I hope whoever comes after her will follow in her footsteps. It's going to be a challenge!"
Phoebe Mills | USA
Olympic Bronze Medalist on beam (1988)
"I'm happy that I have many fond memories of Martha. I remember our practices that followed the Olympic rotation schedule: vault, bars, beam and floor. When it was time to go to beam, we were all relieved that it was finally a rotation with Martha. She was stern yet kind and always very supportive. She has done a lot for USA Gymnastics, and I can't thank her enough for helping me develop a medal winning balance beam routine."
Betty Okino | USA
Olympic Bronze Medalist with team (1992)
"One of my greatest memories was Martha [and Bela] calling me up into their training team. When I first moved to Karolyi's I was put into another elite group headed by another coach, Rick Newman and I was there for about 3 months until the US Classic meet, when I was given the chance to prove myself. After the competition, Martha put her arm around me and said, "well Betty, now are you ready to work?" To which I nodded up and down emphatically. Through her eyes I saw my potential and I had such faith in her [and Bela's] ability to coach me to the Olympic Games. As a coach, Martha was always very sharp and stern with moments of compassion. Her lighter, more endearing side came out when traveling abroad, Martha loves to shop!"
Chellsie Memmel | USA
World Champion (2005) & Olympic Silver Medalist
"I have so many memories of Martha. but I will always remember the lineups before and after practice. They were such a constant and always started and finished our day at the gym. She was a great leader for the team."
Shawn Johnson | USA
World Champion (2007) & 4-Time Olympic Medalist (2008)
"I will never forget meeting Martha for the first time when I went to the Karolyi Ranch as a 12 year old attempting to qualify to the US Classic. I remember being in awe of her and wanting nothing more than to impress her! It wasn't until after the camp was over and we were done competing that I went up to thank her when she all of a sudden gave me the biggest hug and told me how impressed she was and how I would forever be her "little peanut." It was one of the best moments of my gymnastics career."
Jazmyn Foberg | USA
Junior National Champion (2014) & National Team Member (2014-Present)
"My favorite memory with Martha was when she grabbed my face for the first time at the Secret Classic. It was my first time getting on podium and I couldn't be happier. This picture describes it all. This moment led to many more experiences and I'm so thankful for everything! #legend"
