In 1968, two young gymnastics trainers, Bela and Marta Karolyi, came to the small Romanian city of Onesti (thirty thousand inhabitants). They chose a class of 30 girls 6-7 years old and began to train them. Karolyis were talented teachers. Only 2 years later, several girls performed at various international junior competitions.
The Romanian team was created mostly from the gymnasts of this class. This team at various times included such gifted gymnasts as Nadia Comaneci, Theodora Ungureanu, Ekaterina Szabo, Lavinia Arake, Christina Grigoras, Alina Goreak and others. These were gymnasts of the highest class who won medals at European, international and Olympic competitions.
In 1975, one of the students of Karolyi, thirteen-year-old Nadia Comaneci, won gold at the European Championships in all competitions, except for floor exercises. A year later, in Montreal, she became the first gymnast in Olympic history, receiving 10.0 points for performing on uneven bars. She received the perfect 10.0 six more times and became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in history. Nadya won the European Championship from 1975 to 1979.
Nadia Comaneci
Karolyi created the Romanian gymnastics school, and after their departure to the United States, the Romanian gymnastics continued its triumphant march.
What would happen if the trainers Karolyi chose another city, not Onesti? I think that Karolyis would have recruited 30 talented girls there and would have prepared them for high-level competitions. And Nadia Comaneci and other gymnasts from Onesti? Their talents might be lost. They would have chosen some professions, and some of them would not even suspect that they have great sports talent. To reveal a talent you need a real, dedicated teacher. There are many talents everywhere. Everyone was born for something.
Another example.
95% of Nobel Prizes [1] go to 16 countries where there are 100 best universities in the world [2]. In these countries, great talents may sooner meet great teachers.
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1. Total number of Nobel laureats
2. The World's Top 100 Universities
https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/choosing-university/worlds-top-100-universities
© Galina Popovici, 2018
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