Respect Equality

New accusations of abuse rock world of women’s gymnastics

Story at a glance

  • A new book alleges gymnastic coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi were abusive.
  • The allegations range from starving gymnasts to slapping them.
  • These allegations follow increased scrutiny of women’s gymnastics after the wide-ranging sexual abuse gymnasts faced at the the hands of the team doctor, Larry Nassar.

A new book reportedly details new allegations of physical and psychological abuse in women’s gymnastics, this time aimed at Hall of Fame gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi and his wife, Martha.

With allegations dating back to the 1960s, Romanian author Stejarel Olaru’s book “Nadia si Securitatea” alleges gymnasts training under Karolyi were subject to being slapped, denied food and having medical treatment withheld. The abuse laid out in the book is reportedly cited from files that had been kept by Romania’s old secret police force, the Securitate, which fell in the country along with communism.

Karolyi, a Romanian gymnastics coach who defected to the United States in 1981, is known for coaching and training Nadia Comaneci — the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics in 1976. The book alleges she was one of the victims. 


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In the U.S., he acted as the individual coach for all-around gold medalist Mary Lou Retton in 1984, as well as the head coach of the U.S. national team in the 1992 Olympics. His wife, Martha, led the 1996 gold medal team, where Karolyi is seen supporting Kerri Strug as she won gold with an ankle injury before he carried her off the mat.

However, the book paints the coaching pair in a different light, alleging the athletes were often starved and hit.

“Starving the gymnasts was a regular practice by the Karolyis,” Olaru wrote, according to the report. “The girls ate toothpaste at night before going to bed — this is how hungry they were. In some cases they talked about drinking water from the toilet tank in secret, because they were often not allowed to drink water.”

“Some ended up suffering from bulimia,” he wrote. “They became expert in stealing food, which they hid in places they thought no one would discover, like the hem of the curtain.”

The book also alleges Karolyi ate steak and fries in front of the gymnasts while they were starving.

When asked about the book’s allegations, Comaneci said, “I was aware of [Olaru’s] project and his research on the secret police files and informers. I told him that my whole memory is in the book I wrote, ‘Letters to a Young Gymnast.’ Nothing more to add. Life goes on.”

The AFP news agency contacted Bela Karolyi about the allegations.

Meanwhile, Karolyi responded, “By nature I am never satisfied. It’s never enough, never. My gymnasts are the best prepared in the world. And they win. That’s all that counts.”

Both of the Karolyis are the subject of lawsuits stemming from the crimes of convicted sex offender Larry Nassar, who is serving a life sentence for his possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of numerous girls while he was a doctor for gymnasts. The couple is accused of being aware the abuse was taking place and doing nothing to stop it. 

Following the lawsuits against them, the Karolyis countersued USA Gymnastics for damages, saying they weren’t aware of Nassar’s crimes and aren’t liable for them. 


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