Iconic Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci turned 60 on Friday.
To mark her birthday, the Romanian post office, Poșta Română, issued stamps to celebrate the date.
Perfect 10
Aged 14, Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
The first stamp features a picture of the gymnast with a red rose. The second stamp shows her competing for Romania on the beam at Montreal.
She made history when she was awarded the first perfect 10 for her routine on the uneven bars.
The Olympics official timekeeper Omega was unable to display her mark on its scoreboard and it came up as a 1.00.
Olympic gold medals
She went on to win six more „10s”. She won Olympic gold medals for the individual all-around, the balance beam and uneven bars.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday decorated her with the „Star of Romania” order, the oldest and highest distinction offered by the country.
“I would like to thank you all for my birthday wishes on this day, November 12th. Thank you everyone. I wish you all the best of luck. Stay healthy,” the former gymnast said.
It’s the fourth time Nadia Comăneci has appeared on Romanian post office stamps. She featured after the Montreal Games again in 2001 and 2016
International career
Her international career ended in 1981 as she was taller and heavier than she had been in Montreal. She earned two 10 scores at the Summer Universiade in Bucharest to huge home acclaim in what turned out to be her last championship appearance.
Nadia Comăneci defected from Romania in 1989 a month before the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu. She now lives in the United States.
Following the collapse of communism, she returned to the country regularly, including for her wedding in 1996 to American gymnast Bart Conner.
Stamps
Comăneci has also appeared on stamps in several other countries, including Azerbaijan, France, Mongolia, North Korea and The Netherlands.
She was born in the northeastern town of Onesti and started gymnastics at the age of five.
