Politics beckons Romanian legend Nadia Comaneci
BUCHAREST: It's been more than 30 years since she captivated the world in Montreal, earning the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics history.
But the name Nadia Comaneci continues to enchant those who remember the pony-tailed 14-year-old competing for Romania in 1976.
In demand all over the world for endorsements and charity work, Comaneci, who holds dual US and Romanian nationality, now faces a new balancing act as she is being targeted for a career in politics in her native country.
Romania's governing National Liberal Party (PNL) is looking to persuade Comaneci to go forward for them on their list of candidates for the country's first European Parliamentary elections on November 25.
The list of candidates must be lodged by September 26 at the latest.
And the lure of the Comaneci name is one which all parties are keen to harness.
Comaneci's name is being cited to head the PNL list, in place of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Razvan Ungureanu.
The US-based former gymnastics star is set to meet Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu to discuss the offer.
"I would be delighted if she (Comaneci) were to accept but at present there has been no discussions," PNL vice-president Norica Nicolai told AFP.
"We'll know more (this week) ... when our delegation meets to discuss strategy, the list and campaign team," added Nicolai.
According to the Romania Libera newspaper, Comaneci had already been courted by the Conservative Party (PC), but decided against running following poor showings by them in opinion polls.
Born in 1961 in the factory town of Onesti to a car mechanic named Gheorghe and his wife Stefania, Comaneci created Olympic history when she became the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in a team competition at the 1976 Games.
By the time the Olympics ended, Comaneci had earned seven perfect tens, three gold medals, one bronze and one silver, and a legion of fans.
She appeared on the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated, all in the same week, and returned home to Romania as a heroine.
Her achievement also forced the world gymnastics federation to re-design their scoreboards.
It was the first time in modern Olympic history that the score had ever been awarded, and scoreboards were not even equipped to display scores of 10.0.
She went on to win gold in the balance beam and floor and silver at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, before retiring the following year.
But despite her star status at home, in November 1989, a few weeks before the Revolution, she defected with a group of other young Romanians, travelling overland through Hungary and Austria, before flying to the United States.
Now married to US 1984 double Olympic gymnastics champion Bart Conner, Comaneci gave birth to her first child Dylan Paul Conner on June 3, 2006.
Other former Romanian athletes have already dabbled in politics.
Former Olympics athletics champion Lia Manoliu held a seat in the Senate from 1990-1992 and ex-tennis star Ilie Nastase ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Bucharest in 1996.
AFP
(China Daily 08/29/2007 page23)
