19. Februar 2008  
St. Petersburg, Beijing  
Artistic Gymnastics

Comaneci expects Chinese success in Olympic gymnastics

Nadja Comaneci to the Chinese press...

Nadja Comaneci, in conversation with the Chinese press...
On the edge of the awarding ceremony of "9th Laureus World Sports Award" last weekend at the Marinski Theater in St. Petersburg the  gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci was a very desired converser for journalists from all over the world.
The Olympic heroine of Montreal 1976 was one of the 44 distinguished members of the awarding jury in St. Petersburg
Comaneci, looking to the Olympics in August, sang high praise for the Chinese national team:
"The Chinese team is very very good. In men's competition, I don't think any other team could be better than them", she told the Chinese press agency Xinhua ...
Comaneci said:  "Women's competition will be very close. Of course the best will win. But it's a great advantage to have Olympics in your country. You'll have a lot of support, which is great. It will be difficult for everybody else to get a hand on the medals," she added.
But the 1976 Olympic heroine believes that other sides still have a chance to compete with the hosts:
"I know the Chinese team wants to take everything. It's a huge opportunity to have the Games in your country," she said.
"We'll just have to see. It's one thing to be good in the paper, and it's another to perform the best in that particular day."

She anticipated strong performance from Chinese multi-world champion ...

YANG, Wei, Shawn JOHNSON

<< Yang Wei from China and Shawn Johnson of the United States in particular, when asked if there could be any super star in Beijing. Johnson (16), won three gold medals in team, all-around and floor categories in the 2007 world championships in Stuttgart.
"He (Yang Wei) is fantastic. In men's competition, he has no equal. In women's we'll see. But I think Shawn Johnson would be able to (be a super star). She's good. But as I said, it's in China! So it's going to be hard for her," said Comaneci, who was born in Romania but a U.S. citizen now, married with the Olympic champion (parallel bars)  from 1984, Bart Connor.

The 14-year-old Nadja, 1976 in Montreal

Comaneci, the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of ten in an Olympics, was one of the 44 members of "Laureus Award' jury in St. Petersburg last weekend, said that the sport today was very different from what it used to be:
"Equipment is safer and better; gymnasts do a lot more difficult skills; and of course, the points are different, the '10.0' exist only in execution. "Now it's open scoring, a little confusing for the fans. But I'm sure gymnastics will attract much attention in Beijing."

At the age of 14, Comaneci became one of the stars of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
During the team portion of the competition, her routine on the uneven bars was scored at a 10.0.
Over the course of that Games, she earned six additional 10s, en route to capturing the all-around, beam and bars titles and a bronze medal on the floor exercise.
*source: Xinhua News Agency