April 6, 2011 marked the 121^st anniversary of the modern Olympic Games, first held in Athens, Greece. As a tribute to the modern Olympics Games, gymnast of the week this week features one of the greatest Olympic gymnasts of all times, Nadia Comaneci.

Nadia grew up in Romania, where she began gymnastics in kindergarten. At age 6, she was choosen to attend Bela Karolyi’s experimental gymnastics camp after seen doing cartwheels on the playground. By age 7, Nadia was training regularly with the Karolyi’s and in 1969 she competed in her first competition and placed 13^th all-around. In 1971 Nadia competed in her first international meet, a duel between Romania and Yugoslavia, winning first place in the all-around and helped her team win the gold medal. For the next 2 years Nadia competed in junior meets and continued to win the all-around title, as well as balance beam, bar, and vault gold medal in several meets.

Nadia is most notably known as the first gymnast in history to receive a perfect 10. Her first perfect 10 came at the American Cup in Madison Square Garden in New York in 1976. Her perfect 10 came on vault in both the preliminary and final rounds of competition; she also won the all-around. Nadia also received perfect 10s at other competitions that year and was internationally recognized by the United Press International and named Female Athlete of the Year.

While Nadia’s success leading up to the Montreal Olympics in 1976 is impressive, she really stole the spotlight at those Olympics Games at the young at of 14. During the team competition she received a perfect 10 on uneven bars, becoming the first gymnast in modern Olympic gymnastics history to ever receive that score. Throughout the 1976 games, Nadia earned six perfect 10s and captured the all-around, balance beam, vault, and uneven bar title, and took bronze on floor. Comaneci was the first Romanian gymnast to win the all-around title at the Olympics and holds the record as the youngest Olympic gymnastics all-around champion. After the Olympic Games, Nadia was named the Associated Press’s Female Athlete of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Between 1977 and 1980 Nadia was able to defend her European all-around title in 1977. In 1978 the Karoylis’ gymnasts were removed from their training and moved to new locations, which was a downfall for Comaneci, and she only placed 4^th at the 1978 World Championships, but still managed to capture the beam title. In 1979 Nadia returned to the Karoylis and won her third European all-around title, becoming the first gymnast, male or female, to win three consecutive titles. Nadia participated in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow where she placed second in the all-around but defended her beam title and tied for first on floor with long time rival, Nellie Kim.

After the 1980 Olympic Games, Comaneci retired from gymnastics. She participated in a gymnastics exhibition tour in the U.S. for a year and then returned to Romania where she was strictly monitored due to the communist government. Nadia was able to reach the U.S. and then Montreal, Canada in 1989. While living in Montreal she met Bart Conner (last week’s gymnast of the week) and moved to Oklahoma with him; the two became engaged in 1994. The couple married in 1996 in Romania, and welcomed their son in 2006.

Comaneci has held numerous head and honorary positions in the gymnastics community in both the U.S. and Romania. She co-owns a gymnastics academy and has helped broadcast for both the Melbourne World Championships and Beijing Olympics. She has also appeared on The Celebrity Apprentice.

Nadia was awarded with the Olympic Order, the highest award given by the International Olympic Committee in 1984 and 2004, being the only person the receive this honor twice. She has also been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Nadia also has her own skill on bars named the Comaneci, and is credited to being the first gymnast to perform a number of skills, some include, a double back on floor and a double twist. She also is credited with the double twist dismount on beam and an aerial walkover.

Nadia Comaneci is a gymnastics icon, which is shown through her elegant routines and original skills, as well as her numerous awards, medals, and receiving the first ever perfect 10.

Here is Nadia's 1976 balance beam routine that earned her a perfect 10!