The Story
Some Western journalists were compelled to learn more about the 11-year-old girl’s brutal murder after hearing the story. The new Romanian government, however, turned out to be less liberal and democratic than it had initially promised. The Romanian government openly confiscated some of the evidence, including photographs, and then they vanished. There were a number of speculations about the case. The most common belief was that young Romanian athletes were beaten by coaches in order to reach peak performance, as the country was so desperate to regain its former athletic glory. Someone like Nadia Comăneci was required.
Her Coach
Béla weighed in with his opinion on the situation. The legendary trainer still seemed dissatisfied with the way things were done in Romania. Even though it was no longer a dictatorship, Romania was still keen on restoring its reputation. Enemies of the state would vanish mysteriously without a trace, and the secret police were still very much active. As a nation and a people, Romania took a serious hit because of this. Unfortunately, many coaches were cruel, causing harm to thousands of children. This is just one of the many reasons why Béla and Nadia have stayed away from home for so long.