Marta Károlyi
Encyclopedia
Márta Károlyi is an American
gymnastics coach and the National Team Coordinator for USA Gymnastics
. Károlyi is originally from Romania
, she and her husband, Béla
, are ethnic Hungarians, and trained athletes there as well, but defected to the United States in 1981. Béla and Márta Károlyi have trained nine Olympic champions, fifteen world champions, sixteen European medalists and many U.S. national champions, including Mary Lou Retton
, Betty Okino
, Kerri Strug, Teodora Ungureanu
, Nadia Comăneci
, Kim Zmeskal
and Dominique Moceanu
.
, training young girls specially chosen for their athletic potential. One of the first students at the Károlyis' school was six year old Nadia Comăneci
, who lived near Oneşti and commuted from home.
While Béla became a highly visible figure in Romanian gymnastics, accompanying the team to major competitions and, often, clashing with officials in the sport, Marta remained in the background, coaching and choreographing routines for some of the team's gymnasts.
In November 2008, Emilia Eberle
—a former Romanian national team member during the Karolyi coaching era—gave an interview to KCRA-TV
claiming that while she was a Romanian national team gymnast, both Bela and Marta regularly beat her and her teammates for mistakes they made in practice or competition. "In one word, I can say it was brutal," she told KCRA.
In 1981, the Károlyis, along with Romanian team choreographer Géza Pozsár, defected during a gymnastics tour in the United States. They were granted asylum and settled in Oklahoma
.
. Béla's status as "Nadia's coach" quickly attracted gymnasts to the club, and by the late 1980s, the Károlyi gym had become the preeminent training facility in the United States. By 1990, Károlyi gymnasts were so predominant at national United States meets that journalists dubbed the top cluster of athletes the "Károlyi six-pack." At the 1991 World Championships, for example, every single gymnast on the American squad was either a Károlyi athlete or trained by a former Károlyi club coach.
Károlyi has avoided most of the controversy and accusations of abusive coaching that have trailed her husband, opting for a quieter, less abrasive approach. In the Károlyi coaching team, Béla was often known as the "motivator," while Márta was the "technician," applying her gymnastics savvy to helping her athletes learn and perfect their technique, mechanics and form. Béla accompanied the gymnasts to meets and was a highly visible presence to both the gymnastics community and the media; Márta remained in the background.
In 1996, Márta was chosen as the head coach of the U.S. women's team for the 1996 Olympics.
In 2001, on the recommendation of the U.S. national team coaches, the position was handed over to Márta. While she maintained some aspects of Béla's original program, her approach has been different, and generally more acceptable, to the gymnasts and their coaches. It has also yielded impressive competitive results: between 2001 and 2008, American women have won a combined total of Forty-four medals in World Championship and Olympic competition.. They have also consistently been overtrained, poorly peaked, and arrived at major competitions carrying numerous injuries.
As coordinator, Márta oversees all aspects of the women's national team. Among her duties are selecting athletes for competitions, determining apparatus lineups at the meets, and making recommendations about skills and routine compositions. The Károlyis' daughter Andrea is the nutritionist for the team.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gymnastics coach and the National Team Coordinator for USA Gymnastics
USA Gymnastics
United States of America Gymnastics or USAG is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The mission of USA Gymnastics is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of gymnastics....
. Károlyi is originally from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, she and her husband, Béla
Béla Károlyi
Béla Károlyi is a Romanian gymnastics coach. He was born in what was then Kolozsvár, Hungary, a region restored to Romanian administration after 1944. Károlyi and his wife, Márta, also of Hungarian origin, emigrated to the United States in 1981 and both have dual citizenships for Romania and the...
, are ethnic Hungarians, and trained athletes there as well, but defected to the United States in 1981. Béla and Márta Károlyi have trained nine Olympic champions, fifteen world champions, sixteen European medalists and many U.S. national champions, including Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title, after 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.-Personal life:Retton was born in Fairmont, West...
, Betty Okino
Betty Okino
Elizabeth Anne Okino is an American actress, and former gymnast and Olympic medalist.Born in Africa, Okino moved to the United States with her family and began gymnastics at the relatively late age of 9. By 1988, only four years later, she had progressed to the elite level, placing 17th at that...
, Kerri Strug, Teodora Ungureanu
Teodora Ungureanu
Teodora Ungureanu is a retired Romanian gymnast who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She is a three-time Olympic medalist and a world silver medalist. After retirement from gymnastics she enjoyed a successful career as a gymnastics coach...
, Nadia Comăneci
Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
, Kim Zmeskal
Kim Zmeskal
Kimberly Lynn "Kim" Zmeskal Burdette is a retired American gymnast and a former national and world gymnastics champion in the early 1990s.-Early life and training:...
and Dominique Moceanu
Dominique Moceanu
Dominique "Domi" Helena Moceanu is an American gymnast who was a member of the Olympic Gold medal winning 1996 U.S...
.
Romania
The Károlyis pioneered the Romanian centralized gymnastics training system in Romania in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They established a boarding school in OneştiOnesti
Onești is a city in Bacău County, Romania, with a population of 51,681 inhabitants.Administratively, the villages of Slobozia and Borzești form part of Onești...
, training young girls specially chosen for their athletic potential. One of the first students at the Károlyis' school was six year old Nadia Comăneci
Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
, who lived near Oneşti and commuted from home.
While Béla became a highly visible figure in Romanian gymnastics, accompanying the team to major competitions and, often, clashing with officials in the sport, Marta remained in the background, coaching and choreographing routines for some of the team's gymnasts.
In November 2008, Emilia Eberle
Emilia Eberle
Gertrude Emilia Eberle , was a Romanian gymnast of ethnic Hungarian - German descent who was of European, World, and Olympic calibre.Eberle, a pupil of the famous fellow ethnic Hungarian husband-wife coaching team Béla Károlyi and Márta Károlyi before they defected from Romania to the United...
—a former Romanian national team member during the Karolyi coaching era—gave an interview to KCRA-TV
KCRA-TV
KCRA-TV, channel 3, is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States. KCRA-TV is owned by Hearst Television, a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, and is an affiliate of the NBC television network...
claiming that while she was a Romanian national team gymnast, both Bela and Marta regularly beat her and her teammates for mistakes they made in practice or competition. "In one word, I can say it was brutal," she told KCRA.
In 1981, the Károlyis, along with Romanian team choreographer Géza Pozsár, defected during a gymnastics tour in the United States. They were granted asylum and settled in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
1980s and 1990s
After their defection in 1981, the Károlyis established a gym in Houston, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Béla's status as "Nadia's coach" quickly attracted gymnasts to the club, and by the late 1980s, the Károlyi gym had become the preeminent training facility in the United States. By 1990, Károlyi gymnasts were so predominant at national United States meets that journalists dubbed the top cluster of athletes the "Károlyi six-pack." At the 1991 World Championships, for example, every single gymnast on the American squad was either a Károlyi athlete or trained by a former Károlyi club coach.
Károlyi has avoided most of the controversy and accusations of abusive coaching that have trailed her husband, opting for a quieter, less abrasive approach. In the Károlyi coaching team, Béla was often known as the "motivator," while Márta was the "technician," applying her gymnastics savvy to helping her athletes learn and perfect their technique, mechanics and form. Béla accompanied the gymnasts to meets and was a highly visible presence to both the gymnastics community and the media; Márta remained in the background.
In 1996, Márta was chosen as the head coach of the U.S. women's team for the 1996 Olympics.
U.S. National Team Coordinator
Following the 1996 Olympics, the Károlyis retired from coaching. However, three years later, Béla returned to the public eye when he was named the National Team Coordinator for the U.S. women's gymnastics team. His approach was protested and resisted by both the national team gymnasts and their coaches, who, by the 2000 Olympics, were so frustrated and unhappy that they spoke about the situation publicly.In 2001, on the recommendation of the U.S. national team coaches, the position was handed over to Márta. While she maintained some aspects of Béla's original program, her approach has been different, and generally more acceptable, to the gymnasts and their coaches. It has also yielded impressive competitive results: between 2001 and 2008, American women have won a combined total of Forty-four medals in World Championship and Olympic competition.. They have also consistently been overtrained, poorly peaked, and arrived at major competitions carrying numerous injuries.
As coordinator, Márta oversees all aspects of the women's national team. Among her duties are selecting athletes for competitions, determining apparatus lineups at the meets, and making recommendations about skills and routine compositions. The Károlyis' daughter Andrea is the nutritionist for the team.
External links
- "Strong and silent, the other Karolyi works on". Times of India
- "Back in good graces" Article from the Arizona Republic, July 14, 2004