Nadia Comaneci scores perfect 10s at the 1976 Montreal Olympics

Nadia Comaneci dismounts from the uneven parallel bars during a perfect 10 performance at the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, 18 July 1976. Photograph: Suzanne Vlamis/APView image in fullscreenNadia Comaneci dismounts from the uneven parallel bars during a perfect 10 performance at the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, 18 July 1976. Photograph: Suzanne Vlamis/APFrom the Guardian archiveGymnasticsNadia Comaneci scores perfect 10s at the 1976 Montreal OlympicsIn July 1976, the 14-year-old Romanian becomes the first gymnast to be awarded a score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games John GoodbodyWed 15 Jul 2026 11.15 BSTLast modified on Wed 15 Jul 2026 11.18 BSTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleCompetitors applaud Comaneci20 July 1976The distinction which Romania’s Nadia Comaneci has received in the team gymnastics championship here is to be applauded by the other participants. Only the great gymnasts have received this accolade in a sport where the competitors are more discriminating than the most pedantic of judges.But when the 14-year-old European champion received a maximum 10 points for her performance on the asymmetric bars the watching competitors joined the 18,000 crowd in the applause. It is believed to be the first time a perfect score has ever been achieved for any apparatus at the Games. Miss Comaneci’s precision on the beam and floor exercises is exact. She moves with measured care although this is obscured by the ease which is such a feature of her performance. On one handstand she swung her legs overhead so tantalisingly slowly that it seemed as if she did not have the momentum to reach the position. But she did – and then lingered there, as if to emphasise the smoothness of the action before continuing her routine.Nadia is the flawless gymnast21 July 1976Nadia Comaneci, Romania’s European champion, who on Sunday became the first gymnast to score a maximum 10 points on an apparatus at the Olympics, last night repeated the performance on both the...