Famous Romanian gymnastics coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi, who coordinated the USA Gymnastics team for 17 years, are being sued by a former gymnast who claims that she was sexually assaulted by a team physician and the Karolyis knew about this and covered it up.

The lawsuit against the Karolyis and Dr. Larry Nassar was filed Thursday in Superior Court in Los Angeles County, where the plaintiff now lives, according to CNN. The complaint alleges the Karolyis "turned a blind-eye to Nassar's sexual abuse of children."

The alleged abuse occurred at the Karolyi ranch in Texas, where the USA Gymnastics team used to train before major competition. The former gymnast also wrote in her complaint that the two team coordinators “instituted a regimen of intimidation and fear that included striking, scratching gymnasts, and depriving minors of food and water,” according to CNN.

She also claims that the USA Gymnastics federation also know about the former doctor’s abuse and even tried to conceal it. USA Gymnastics denied the allegations while Bela and Martha Karolyi didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Bela Karolyi became famous as Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci’s coach, in the 1970s. Nadia Comaneci became the first gymnast in Olympic history to be awarded the perfect score of 10 at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where she won three gold medals for Romania. Karolyi started training Comaneci in 1967, when she was only 6, at the newly established gymnastics school in Onesti, a town in Eastern Romania.

Bela and Martha Karolyi trained Romania’s national gymnastics team until 1981, when they defected to the US, during a trip with the team New York. Karolyi had a difficult relationship with Romanian officials. Karolyi was also known for his rough coaching style. A former Romanian gymnast and colleague of Nadia Comaneci, who was also trained by the Karolyis, claimed that the coach beat her repeatedly. Others confirmed her statements.

In 1982, Bela and Martha Karolyi started their own gymnastics school in Houston, Texas. Their first success in the US was Mary Lou Retton, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In total, Karolyi has coached nine Romanian and American Olympic champions, including Dominique Moceanu, Phoebe Mills, and Kerri Strug.

He coordinated the USA Gymnastics team from 1999 and 2001, when he was replaced with his wife Martha Karolyi. Under her coordination, the USA Gymnastics team won two Olympic team titles and four Olympic all-around titles, including at the 2016 Rio Olympic. Martha Karolyi retired after the Olympics.

Romanian gymnastics world champion reveals dark side of performance in autobiography

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(Photo source: Wikipedia)