Bucharest – The city of Onesti will host large-scale events to celebrate the first gymnast in history to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games, with Nadia Comaneci set to be present in her hometown alongside other figures from Romanian and international sport at the end of May, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.
“Fifty years after the historic performance recorded at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci returns home, to Onesti – the place where she grew up, where she trained and developed into a legend of world gymnastics and the athlete who inspired and continues to inspire generations of children in Romania and around the world. The city is preparing intensively to welcome the gymnast who reset the standards of gymnastics, achieving the first ever perfect 10. Several events will take place in the last days of May, when Onesti will host hundreds of guests, from personalities from the world of sport and officials to representatives of the press and people who wish to applaud Nadia in person,” the quoted source says.
The Onesti Municipal Sports Club, subordinated to the National Agency for Sport, in partnership with the Onesti City Hall and the Nadia Comaneci Foundation, will organise between 28 and 31 May the “Nadia Comaneci – Perfect 10 International Cup.”
It will be an international women’s gymnastics competition dedicated to young athletes, taking place at the “Nadia Comaneci” Polyvalent Hall. More than 200 juniors from Romania, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, France, Norway, Nigeria and Malta will participate.
“Coaches, referees, former champions and renowned guests from the international sporting world will also be present. The competition will be more than a sporting event, it will be a meeting between the generations that have built, inspired and carried forward the Romanian school of gymnastics,” the press release also reads.
On 31 May, the “Champions’ Gala” at the Carom Stadium will be the highlight of the anniversary events, a celebration of perfection attended by Romania’s great gymnasts who began their careers and were trained in Onesti.
“Onesti will always be home for Nadia and we are eagerly awaiting her so that we can celebrate her. The fifty years that have passed since the Olympic Games in Montreal, where she made history, are the ideal occasion to show her how much she is loved here. Nadia has always had a family in Onesti that has accompanied her throughout her life. It will be a moment celebrating talent and also a symbolic meeting of generations in the place where perfection was born and where we continue to build internationally recognised talent. It will be a celebration that goes beyond the borders of Onesti and I am pleased that valuable figures from Romanian sport, who wished to welcome Nadia home, will attend. It is a happy coincidence that, this year, Onesti is a European City of Sport, confirming our commitment to continuously developing the multidisciplinary sports club that can give Romania and the world new champions,” said CSM Onesti Director Ingrid Istrate.
On 10 July 2025, President Nicusor Dan signed the decree promulgating the law establishing 2026 as the “YearNadia Comaneci year,” marking 50 years since the legendary performances of the Romanian gymnast at the 21st edition of the Summer Olympic Games, held in 1976 in Montreal, when the first perfect 10 in world gymnastics was awarded. As part of this project, several events will be organised throughout 2026, coordinated by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.
