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

Bela Karolyi, the polarizing gymnastics manager who turned Team USA into an planetary powerfulness has passed distant astatine 82. USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday. No origin of decease was given.

Karolyi and woman Martha trained aggregate Olympic golden medalists and satellite champions successful the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.

'A large interaction and power connected my life,' Comaneci, who was conscionable 14 erstwhile Karolyi coached her to golden for Romania astatine the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted connected Instagram.

The Karolyis defected to the United States successful 1981 and implicit the adjacent 30-plus years became a guiding unit successful American gymnastics, though not without controversy. 

Often criticized for his toughness connected young athletes, Karolyi was aboriginal implicated successful the Larry Nassar intersexual maltreatment ungraded implicit allegations helium created a civilization that discouraged whistleblowers. However, galore gymnasts besides came to the defence of Karolyi, who was ne'er personally accused of being progressive successful immoderate carnal oregon intersexual abuse. 

Bela helped usher Retton — each of 16 — to the Olympic all-around rubric astatine the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug disconnected the level astatine the 1996 Games successful Atlanta aft Strug's vault secured the squad golden for the Americans.

Karolyi concisely became the nationalist squad coordinator for USA Gymnastics women's elite programme successful 1999 and incorporated a semi-centralized strategy that yet turned the Americans into the sport's golden standard. It did not travel without a cost. He was pushed retired aft the 2000 Olympics aft respective athletes spoke retired astir his tactics.

It would not beryllium the past clip Karolyi was accused of grandstanding and pushing his athletes excessively acold physically and mentally.

During the tallness of the Nassar ungraded successful the precocious 2010s — erstwhile the disgraced erstwhile USA Gymnastics squad doc was efficaciously fixed a beingness condemnation aft pleading blameworthy to sexually assaulting gymnasts and different athletes with his hands nether the guise of aesculapian attraction — implicit a twelve erstwhile gymnasts came guardant saying the Karolyis were portion of a strategy that created an oppressive civilization that allowed Nassar's behaviour to tally unchecked for years.

Still, immoderate of Karolyi's astir celebrated students were ever among his staunchest defenders. When Strug got married, she and Karolyi took a photograph recreating their celebrated country from the 1996 Olympics, erstwhile helium carried her onto the medals podium aft she vaulted connected a severely sprained ankle.