Article by Mihai Șovei – Published Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 12:45 / Updated Tuesday, April 28, 2026 12:46
Nadia Comăneci (64 years old), the first athlete in the world to receive a ten in an Olympic gymnastics competition, will be present in Cluj-Napoca, at the Sports Festival, where she will give a masterclass. The event will take place on Sunday, June 14, from 1:00 p.m., at the BTarena hall.
Its presence in Cluj-Napoca is symbolic, considering that it is 50 years since the great performance at the Olympic Games in Montreal.
In June, Nadia Comăneci comes to Cluj-Napoca
Considered one of the most important figures in the history of world sports, Nadia Comăneci returns to Romania to speak to sports lovers.
Sometimes it only takes a few seconds to change a life. 17 seconds. That's how long the exercise lasted that changed my life and the history of world gymnastics. But behind the 17 seconds were millions of seconds of training. For me, sport meant more than the first 10, more than the medals won. It was about discipline, courage and wanting to get better every day.
For me, sport meant more than the first 10, more than the medals won. It was about discipline, courage and wanting to get better every day.
I am waiting for you at the Sports Festival Masterclass where I will give you many more seconds of testimonies, lessons and teachings from sports and personal experiences, which can be applied in any field. It will be an honest meeting, an open dialogue and, I hope, a source of inspiration and motivation for all those who believe in the power of dreams built through work and passion!
– Nadia Comaneci
Organized by the Sports Festival in partnership with the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, the event is part of the series of special moments dedicated to the year 2026, when it will be 50 years since the most important moment in the history of Romanian gymnastics.
On July 18, 1976, in the Forum hall in Montreal, Nadia Comăneci, then 14 and a half years old, was rewarded with the first maximum mark, 10.00 at the time, in the history of the Olympic Games.
“For Romania and for the whole world, the moment of the Olympic Games in Montreal 1976 remains a living lesson about what it means to achieve perfection.
She had not yet turned 15 and Nadia Comăneci achieved not only the first 10 in the history of Olympic gymnastics, but also achieved the impossible, offering humanity pure emotion, perfection in sports and a landmark that continues to inspire many generations of children. In those moments, we all understood that excellence is not an abstract ideal, but a reality built through passion, discipline and courage”, said Mihai Covaliu, president of COSR.
Nadia Comăneci, awarded at the Laureus Gala
Nadia Comăneci received last week, during the Laureus Gala, from the Cibeles Palace in Madrid, the award for her entire career.
