Béla Károlyi bust in Deva, Romania

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Béla Károlyi, a renowned Romanian gymnastics coach of Hungarian ethnicity, was born on September 13, 1942. He hails from Kolozsvár, Hungary, now known as Cluj-Napoca, Romania. In 1981, Károlyi and his wife, Márta, who shares his Hungarian roots, immigrated to the United States, earning dual citizenship in both Romania and America. The Károlyis have successfully coached Romanian and U.S. Olympic teams to victory. Among their notable students are Nadia Comăneci, Ecaterina Szabo, Mary Lou Retton, Betty Okino, Teodora Ungureanu, Kim Zmeskal, Kristie Phillips, Dominique Moceanu, Phoebe Mills, and Kerri Strug. Béla Károlyi famously carried Kerri Strug to the podium after she suffered an ankle injury on the gold-medal-winning vault in the 1996 Summer Olympics team competition held in Atlanta, Georgia. Throughout his career, Károlyi has coached nine Olympic champions, fifteen world champions, sixteen European medalists, and six U.S. national champions. This statue is part of a growing series of bronze busts located outside The School of Gymnastics in Deva, Romania. Each bust honors an athlete who represented Romania since the 1978 Montreal Olympics. The series pays tribute to the strength and success of female artistic gymnasts worldwide. The school was initially founded by Nadia Comăneci and is now coached by Márta and Béla Károlyi. Since 2003, it has been known as The Cetate Deva National Sports college, focusing on female athletics. This object is part of "Scan The World," a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory. Scan the World creates a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from around the globe for public access at no cost. It is an open-source community effort. If you have interesting items to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help. Scanned using Photogrammetry (Processed with Agisoft PhotoScan)