Kollar's accusations were supported by Geza Pozsar, a choreographer who worked with the Karolyis from 1974 until 2002. But when the beatings came, it was very, very, very harsh," Kollar told The Associated Press. Martha Karolyi slapped her, Kollar said, and dug her fingernails into her neck. He would hit her on the side of her neck or the back of her head, sometimes drawing blood, and also kick her, Kollar said. Kollar, who won silvers in the team competition and the uneven bars in 1980 when she was known as Emilia Eberle, said most of the abuse came at the hands of Bela Karolyi. The International Gymnastics Federation said it has not received any complaints about the Karolyis. The allegations were first reported by KCRA, a television station in Sacramento, Calif., where Kollar now coaches. "I tried to be a father before being a coach," he said, adding he had "a parental attitude" to the Romanian gymnasts. Perhaps others say it was the best time of their lives," Bela Karolyi told the Cotidianul. team.īut in an interview with Romanian daily Cotidianul, Bela Karolyi did not deny Kollar's allegations but said he feels no guilt for anything he did. women's team, is in Argentina, and Bela Karolyi is in Houston. Martha Karolyi, the coordinator of the U.S. Neither of the Karolyis could be reached for comment. "The gymnasts the Karolyis personally coached in the States include Mary Lou Retton, Kim Zmeskal and Kerri Strug, all of whom have spoken positively about their experiences with the Karolyis." "USA Gymnastics has not received a complaint concerning their conduct from an athlete or parent," USA Gymnastics said in a statement. The Karolyis coached the Romanian team before they defected to the United States in 1981. Trudi Eberle Kollar, a double silver medalist at the 1980 Olympics, said the Karolyis hit her when she was at the Romanian national training center in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Whether they'll be freed from civil lawsuits alleging they played a role in Nassar's crimes remains to be seen.USA Gymnastics has never received a complaint about Bela or Martha Karolyi in the nearly 30 years they have been coaching in the United States, the governing body said yesterday, a day after a Romanian gymnast alleged the two had abused her. Unlike former USAG president Steve Penny - who faces charges for tampering with evidence related to the Nassar case - the Karolyis are not on USAG's permanently ineligible list, but given that the organization has moved its training camps away from the Karolyi ranch, it seems unlikely that they'll ever be involved with the program again. The Karolyis have repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the abuse, but many gymnasts, parents, and coaches have alleged that the couple created a culture of fear and silence that helped to enable it, with some even suing the Karolyis for damages. Just weeks after the Final Five dominated the field in Rio, the Indianapolis Star broke its story about the allegations against Nassar. Marta's retirement after the Rio Games marked the end of the couple's tenure at USAG. (That moment is shown through a different lens in the documentary.) After a disappointing run at the 2000 Olympics, Bela retired and passed the baton to Marta, who helped lead Team USA to back-to-back gold medals in 20. He's best known for helping propel Mary Lou Retton to Olympic stardom in 1984, and urging an injured Kerri Strug to vault once more to clench the country's first team gold at the 1996 Olympic Games. Netflix's Athlete A takes a closer look at the Karolyis' controversial coaching methods, but you may be curious if the duo is still involved with the program they helped build for more than 30 years.īela's reign and subsequent retirement as national team coordinator of USAG preceded his wife's. Bela and Marta Karolyi are lauded as the driving force behind USA Gymnastics's (USAG) rise to dominance, but their legacy was tarnished after it was reported that former team doctor Larry Nassar regularly abused athletes during treatments at the couple's famed training center.
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