Bela Karolyi, one of the United States’ most eminent gymnastics coaches alongside wife Márta, has died at age 82, a spokesperson for USA Gymnastics said Saturday evening.
Jill Geer, a spokesperson for the organization, the nation’s governing body for the sport, confirmed Karolyi died Friday. A cause of death was not provided.
Bela Karolyi helped build USA Gymnastics into an Olympics and international competition powerhouse starting in the 1980s and extending through the 2010s, when his wife had taken over many of his leadership duties.
After success with Nadia Comăneci in Romania, the couple helped to launch the athletic careers of U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductees Dominique Dawes, Phoebe Mills, Betty Okino, Kerri Strug, Mary Lou Retton and Kim Zmeskal.
They found early fame in Retton, the first American woman to win an Olympic individual all-around gold, which she accomplished at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Retton was a fan of Comăneci’s, and found herself embedded in the program of the Karolyis in Houston in the early 1980s. She has said she didn’t expect much from the experience she otherwise cherished.
In an interview with USA Gymnastics in 2016, Retton described her first American Cup competition under the Karolyis.
“I figured I’m just going to sit in the stands at Madison Square Garden and just…
