Kristen Otto | Jesse Owens | Don Bradman | Nadia Comaneci | Sania Mirza | Abhinav Singh Bindra | Michael Phelps

Nadia Comaneci was born in 1961, in Onesti, Romania. She was just six years old when she was noticed by Bela Karoli, the great gymnastics coach, when he was talent scouting at schools for the national junior team, and he over her coaching.

She entered the National Gymnastic Competition for the first time in 1969, and was placed thirteenth. The following year, she won the Junior Championship.

Till 1975, she participated in several championships and won a number of medals, but all within the communist sphere. In 1975, she went to the European Championship in Norway, and dazzled everybody. She came away with four of the five golds.

In the qualifying meet for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, she got six perfect scores out of eight, and followed it up with the American Cup title.

It was in the Montreal Olympics that she made history, with a perfect of 10. She won gold in the All-round event, the Uneven Parallel Bars, and the Balance Beam. All together, she won three golds, two silvers, and one bronze.

In the 1980 Olympics, she walked away with two golds in the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise. She won a silver in the All-round.

In 1989, she went to the USA and became a citizen. She will always be remembered for her confidence, precision, and grace.