The gymnastics community lost one of its most revered veterans today. With the passing of Bela Karolyi, the fans can’t help but feel a sense of loss has taken over their lives. Karolyi was instrumental in Nadia Comaneci’s fame and elite status, and even took the USA’s national team to new heights during his time as the coach of the squad. Even after retirement, he kept himself updated with the developments of his beloved sport. So much so, that the accolades and brilliance of Simone Biles didn’t escape his sight.
While Karolyi’s training methods have garnered him a lot of criticism over the years, it’s undeniable that his tactics yielded success. The lives and works of Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton would serve as a testament to his wisdom. But even Karolyi himself was hard-pressed to acknowledge Biles’ superiority.
An article by USA Today from August 2016 reveals that Karolyi, like many of us, was mesmerized by Simone Biles’ prowess as an elite gymnast. The article mentions that Bela considered Biles as the best gymnast he’d seen. Karolyi’s admiration came from watching Simone perform incredible moves at competitions. “The kind of moves performed by Biles and her rivals would have been unthinkable to previous generations,” Karolyi notes, as per the article. However, highlighting how different generations of gymnasts cannot be compared to each other, Karolyi stated, “Gymnastic continues to be changing and more and more complex and a more and more difficult sport.”
The 2016 Rio Olympics was one of the greatest tournaments in Biles’ career. She walked away from the quadrennial event with five medals, four of them being gold. Naturally, as a coveted coach of the sport, Karolyi was enthralled by what Biles, then 19 years old, managed to pull off on the biggest stage of the sporting world. He went on to note how both Comaneci and Retton had made fans believe that they were the pinnacle of gymnastics. However, looking at young gymnasts pulling off the same moves just years later made Karolyi think differently.
“Those who are best trained will (prevail). Those who are shaky, they will fall,” the Romanian-American coach asserted without beating around the bush about what it takes to continue being relevant at elite levels. Thankfully, Karolyi got to witness Biles’ incredible redemption journey in Paris earlier this year. With that, we can assume that the coach was once again happy to see how the athlete he admired reclaimed her high seat in the most emphatic manner possible.
Simone Biles proved Karolyi right with her stellar Parisian campaign
After 2016, Simone was justifiably projected as one of the greatest stars of the sport of all time. However, that would come to a terrible tumble in Tokyo, five years later. At the 2021 Olympics, Biles pulled out of the final because of the “twisties”. The harsh words for abandoning her team didn’t take time to arrive, but the gymnast kept her head down and took a break from the sport to get back on her feet. Biles returned almost two years later, and immediately made her intentions clear: she wanted to get back on her high throne.
Thus began an incredible comeback that enthralled fans at every step. The Core Hydration Classic, the Xfinity US Championships, and finally the 33rd Olympic Games: Biles made every opportunity count. Hauling four medals (three among them gold) in the City of Love, the Houston native proved beyond doubt why she’s worthy of being called the GOAT. Are you also a fan of the incredible gymnast? Do you agree with Karolyi’s opinion of Simone? Tell us below!
