Montreal Olympic Park unveils plaza honouring gymnast Nadia Comaneci
The unveiling of Place Nadia Comaneci comes as the World Gymnastic Championships take place inside the Olympic Stadium
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A plaza named after Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian gymnast and runaway star of Montreal’s 1976 Olympic Games, was inaugurated at the Olympic Park on Wednesday.
Place Nadia Comaneci occupies the area formerly known as the Place des vainqueurs, between the Biodôme and the Olympic Stadium’s tower. It has recently undergone a $1.4 million renovation.
The unveiling of Place Nadia Comaneci comes as the World Gymnastic Championships take place at the Olympic Stadium through Oct. 8.
In a statement, Olympic Park director-general Michel Labrecque said Comaenci “incarnated Montreal’s Olympic Games.”
“It’s a great source of pride for me as well as the entire international gymnastic community because gymnastics will henceforth be connected with the Olympic Stadium and city of Montreal,” Comaneci said. “I thank the Olympic Park for honouring us in this manner.”
Competing in the 1976 Olympics at age 14, Comaneci became the youngest all-around gymnastics champion in the competition’s history. The minimum age to compete has since been raised to 16.
She scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastic history on the uneven bars in Montreal and went on to amass seven such scores during the tournament.
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