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LEGENDARY gymnast Nadia Comaneci expressed willingness
to help Filipino gymnasts in their ambitious and belated
bid to win a medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Comaneci, winner of three gold medals in the 1976
Montreal and two in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, visited
the
Philippines
originally to champion for the differently-abled’s
involvement in sports. But because of her credential as
the first to score perfect 10s in gymnastics—she did it
thrice in her young career—Comaneci was expectedly asked
if she could lend a hand to Filipino gymnasts.
The
45-year-old Comaneci runs a gymnastics school in the
United States with husband Bart Conner, a fellow Olympic
gymnast. They have a one-year-old son, Dylan.
Although
retired, Comaneci has not turned her back on the sport
as evidenced by the gymnastics academy she has put up
back home. Originally from Romania but now a US citizen,
Comaneci trains world-class gymnasts in her academy.
The
academy, she said, has 25 veteran coaches who handle
some 1,200 athletes.
“We can
send our athletes here and train with the Filipino
gymnasts. If they need a venue to hone their skills, we
are also willing to accommodate them in the academy,”
said Comaneci in a motivational talk organized by
Procter & Gamble (P&G) yesterday.
Comaneci
and Paeng Nepomuceno, the four-time World Cup of Bowling
champion, were chosen by P&G as its great athletes of
all time who could best inspire not only its employees
but Filipinos to be leaders and innovators in their
respective fields as well.
Comaneci’s willingness to help Filipinos in gymnastics
was welcomed by P&G Philippines president and general
manager James Lafferty, who immediately expressed his
readiness to support Filipino gymnasts in their bid to
qualify for the Bejing Olympics.
Comaneci
claimed that she had no secrets in winning those five
Olympic gold medals. “There’s really no secret [to my
victories]. All it took was a lot of hard work and
passion.”
“You
have to really care for what you do and try to be better
at it everyday. If you surround yourself with the right
people, you can accomplish anything,” Comaneci added.
She was only 14 when she won the gold medals in
Montreal. |
