Nadia Comaneci graced our screens and won the 1976 Olympic Games when I was 4 years old, and I thought she was incredible.

Nadia was an icon, the first female gymnast in Olympic history to gain 10 out of 10 on every apparatus, mastering the art and techniques of women’s artistic gymnastics. I was glued to the television, and watched every appearance. A little girl went flipping like an angel, across the screen in a white leotard, iconically striped with Romanian blue, red and gold.

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I imitated Nadia. and did forward rolls and cartwheels and handstands. I tried back flips on my parent’s bed. According to my mum, I was always “upside down”.