Olympic great Comaneci returns to Montreal, where she changed gymnastics

Retired Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci is back in Montreal to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Summer Games, where she became the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in Olympic competition.

Comaneci, who won five medals, including three gold, at the Games, says returning to Montreal is always emotional and describes the city as one of the defining parts of her life, alongside gymnastics and Romania.

Comaneci, then 14, recalls not realizing she had made history after scoring a perfect 10 on the uneven bars because the scoreboard displayed “1.00” since organizers had not expected anyone to achieve the feat.

Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith, who competed in rowing at the Montreal Games, says revisiting the 1976 Olympics reminds her how far Canadian sport has come over the past 50 years.

Smith said the Montreal Games came at a time when opportunities for women in sport were much more limited than they are today.

The 64-year-old Comaneci will attend an event outside Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday and says she is looking forward to meeting women who were named Nadia in her honour after the 1976 Games.