Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police

2024 Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner – Silver Medal, World History

Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police is a captivating exploration of Nadia Comaneci's life, the Romanian child prodigy and global gymnastics star who ultimately fled her homeland to escape the brutal oppression of a communist regime. At just 14, Nadia made history by being the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. She went on to win three gold medals, shaping the sport for generations and securing her status as a sporting legend.

However, behind the scenes, as the Romanian communist authorities tightened their control over top athletes, Nadia and her coaches were subjected to constant surveillance by the Securitate, the Romanian secret police. Using 25,000 secret police archive pages, intelligence documents, and wiretap recordings, this book provides a unique perspective on Nadia’s life and career through the lens of the communist dictatorship that monitored her every move.

Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police delves into Nadia’s turbulent and sometimes abusive relationships with her coaches, Béla and Marta Károlyi, who would later become central figures in the USA Gymnastics scandal. It also addresses Nadia’s mental health struggles, her 1978 suicide attempt, and her remarkable comeback to win gold at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. The book further examines Nadia's withdrawal from international competition and scrutinizes the dramatic questions surrounding her daring defection to the United States in November 1989. Was her escape orchestrated by CIA agents, directed by President George Bush, or facilitated by the Securitate officers meant to surveil her?

What unfolds is a thrilling narrative of endurance and escape, revealing how one of the world’s greatest gymnasts risked everything for the promise of freedom.