Nadia Comaneci

Gymnast

At the age of 14, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became an international sensation after her performance at Montreal's 1976 Olympics. She earned seven perfect scores and five medals, including three golds, and was the first gymnast to ever earn a perfect score in Olympic competition. Comaneci went on to compete in the 1980 Moscow games and brought her lifetime medal total to five golds, three silvers and one bronze. She retired from competition in 1984 and became a judge and the coach of the Romanian national team. In 1989 Comaneci fled Romania and was granted political asylum in the United States. She settled in Norman, Oklahoma and married U.S. gymnast Bart Connor in 1996. Comaneci became a U.S. citizen in 2001.

Extra credit: Her 1976 gold medals were for uneven bars, balance beam and all-around; Her 1980 golds were for balance beam and floor exercise.

Other Olympians include Amanda Coetzer, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Mary Lou Retton.