Gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi dies at 82 after nine Olympic golds… and a complicated history with Team USA

Bela Karolyi, the polarizing gymnastics coach who turned Team USA into an international power, has passed away at 82. 

USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday, although cause of death was given.

Karolyi and wife Martha trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.

‘A big impact and influence on my life,’ Comaneci, who was just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on Instagram.

The Karolyis defected to the United States in 1981 and over the next 30-plus years became a guiding force in American gymnastics, though not without controversy. 

Often accused of being too hard on young athletes, Karolyi was later criticized during the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal for creating an environment that allegedly stifled whistleblowers. However, many gymnasts also came to the defense of Karolyi, who was never personally accused of being involved in any physical or sexual abuse. 

Simone Biles hugs Bela Karolyi during a 2016 opening event for the World Champions Centre

US Olympic artistic gymnastics’ coach Bela Karolyi carries injured gymnast Kerri Strug onto the podium after his team won the women’s gold medal

Despite his hard demeanor, many of Karolyi’s pupils are mourning his death and praising the lessons he gave them. 

‘Bela Karolyi was a man whose influence on my life and the sport of elite gymnastics is undeniably significant,’ Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu wrote on X. ‘He was a complex individual, embodying a mix of strengths and flaws that left a lasting impact on those around him.

‘Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela’s guidance as my coach came with immense challenges. His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me. While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path.

‘As we bid farewell to Bela, I choose to send loving thoughts to his family and loved ones, and honor our relationship by embracing lessons learned and striving to help create a world where compassion and encouragement guide our actions. May he rest in peace.’ 

Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu opened up about Karolyi on X

As we bid farewell to Bela, I choose to send loving thoughts to his family and loved ones, and honor our relationship by embracing lessons learned and striving to help create a world where compassion and encouragement guide our actions. May he rest in peace.

Bela helped guide Retton — all of 16 — to the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug off the floor at the 1996 Games in Atlanta after Strug’s vault secured the team gold for the Americans.

Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics women’s elite program in 1999 and incorporated a semi-centralized system that eventually turned the Americans into the sport’s gold standard. 

It did not come without a cost. He was pushed out after the 2000 Olympics after several athletes spoke out about his tactics.

It would not be the last time Karolyi was accused of grandstanding and pushing his athletes too far physically and mentally.

Karolyi is pictured in behind one of his greatest stars, Romania’s Nadia Comaneci (center right)

Bela Karolyi (L) and wife Martha Karolyi show their delight with the performance of their protégé Kerri Strug in the 1996 US Gymnastics Olympics Trials at Boston’s Fleeet Center 

Larry Nassar is pictured in court during his sentencing hearing in Michigan in January 2018

During the height of the Nassar scandal in the late 2010s — when the disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor was effectively given a life sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment — over a dozen former gymnasts came forward saying the Karolyis were part of a system that created an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar’s behavior to run unchecked for years.

USA Gymnastics initially agreed to buy the Karolyi’s training facility in August 2016 then backed out of the agreement following an investigation into Nassar’s past. Ultimately USAG decided in January 2018 that the Texas ranch where a number of gymnasts said Nassar abused them would no longer serve as the national training center.

The Karolyis later sued the USOC and USA Gymnastics, claiming the termination of the contract was ‘based upon stigma associated with the land’ and ‘not a valid excuse for termination.’ 

Still, some of Karolyi’s most famous students were always among his staunchest defenders. When Strug got married, she and Karolyi took a photo recreating their famous scene from the 1996 Olympics, when he carried her onto the medals podium after she vaulted on a badly sprained ankle.