Born in 1961, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first woman to score a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastics event at the 1976 Olympic Games, at age 14. Her performance at the 1976 Olympics redefined both her sport and audiences' expectations of female athletes. At the 1980 Olympics, Comaneci won gold medals for the balance beam and floor exercise. She retired from competition in 1984 and defected to the United States in 1989
