Before Nadia Comaneci, no gymnast had even achieved the ultimate score of 10.0. In fact, the scoreboard in Montreal was not designed to accommodate perfection. Instead, a "1.00" was displayed whenever she wowed the judges. By the time the Olympics ended, she had earned seven perfect tens, three gold medals and two silvers, bringing her to a total of 9 Olympic medals.

She officially retired from gymnastics in 1984 and was awarded the prestigious Olympic Order from the President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Anontio Samaranch.
Except for a brief, heavily supervised appearance at the 1984 Olympic Games, the Western public rarely saw Nadia. Because of her incredible popularity in the West, especially in the USA, Romania's communist leadership considered her a prime candidature for defection.

With travel forbidden, Comaneci settled into life as a coach of the sport she once dominated. In November 1989, no longer able to stand the repressive regime that ruled her country, she fled across the border, eventually landing in the U.S.

More than twenty years after her glory in Montreal, her life is nearly as perfect as the scores she earned. In a lavish State wedding held in Romania in April 1996, she married American Olympic Champion, Bart Conner. Comaneci now divides her time between performing exhibitions, commercial endorsements for major companies, speaking engagements and charity events.

Nadia and Bart currently have homes in Oklahoma, California and Romania. They are partners with their manager Paul Ziert in the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy and Grips, Etc., a gymnastics manufacturing company. As contributing editor of International Gymnast Magazine, she is still very involved in her sport. She speaks five languages and is a commentator at major gymnastics competitions for several television networks.

Nadia still trains and exercises daily. She is currently under contract with Danskin, a women's active wear company, and continues to travel all over the world making appearances