Béla Károlyi, the gymnastics coach who rose to prominence by training Olympic all-around champions Nadia Comăneci and Mary Lou Retton, has died at 82, USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday night.
The governing body for the sport in the United States said Károlyi died on Friday, though the cause of death was not immediately clear.
Károlyi and his wife, Márta, ascended to the top of the American gymnastics scene in the late 1980s and early ’90s by coaching multiple gymnasts to international success, but saw their reputations swiftly fall apart as they faced allegations of abusing athletes amid the cutthroat and tension-filled pursuit of victory.
Károlyi first gained international recognition for coaching Comăneci, the Romanian who was the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in the Olympics under the scoring system used at the time. He quickly built his reputation in the United States after guiding Retton to gold at the 1984 Games. He was named the head coach of the 1992 Olympic team after years of his gymnasts excelling at domestic and international competitions, though many were plagued by injuries because of overtraining.
After retiring from coaching in 1996, the Károlyis extended their influence over USA Gymnastics when Béla was appointed the…