Nadia Elena Comăneci (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈnadi.a koməˈnet͡ʃʲ]; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. She is one of the best-known gymnasts in the world. In 2000 Comăneci was named as one of the athletes of the century by the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Comăneci was born in Onești, Romania, as the daughter of Gheorghe and Ștefania-Alexandrina. Her pregnant mother was watching a Russian film in which the heroine's name was Nadya, the diminutive version of the Russian name Nadezhda (which means "Hope"). She decided that her daughter would be named Nadia, too. Comăneci also has a brother four years older than her named Adrian.

Nadia began gymnastics in kindergarten with a local team called "Flacăra", with coaches Duncan and Munteanu. At age 6 she was chosen to attend Béla Károlyi's experimental gymnastics school after Karolyi spotted her and a friend turning cartwheels in a schoolyard. Karolyi was looking for gymnasts he could train at a young age and saw the two girls during recess. When recess ended the girls ran inside. Karolyi went around the classrooms trying to find the girls, with no luck. So, he asked, "Who likes gymnastics?" and the girls popped up saying, "We, we!" Karolyi said one of the girls became a very promising ballerina. The other was Nadia. Nadia was training with Károlyi by the time she was 7 years old, in 1968. She was one of the first students at the gymnastics school established in Onești by Béla and his wife, Marta. Unlike many of the other students at the Károlyi school, Comăneci was able to commute from home for many years because she lived in the area.

Teodora Ungureanu (born November 13, 1960 in Reşiţa, Romania) is a retired Romanian gymnast who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She is a three-time Olympic medalist (two silver and one bronze) and a world silver medalist. After retirement from gymnastics she enjoyed a successful career as a gymnastics coach. Currently, she and her husband Sorin Cepoi are coaching the 2011 USA senior team member Sabrina Vega. Ungureanu is also rated as an International Gymnastics Official and serves as a judge at various competitions. In 2001, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She is not known to be related to the Romanian gymnast Corina Ungureanu who competed in the late 1990s.

Ungureanu began gymnastics at the age of six. She trained in Bucharest until she was twelve, when she joined the gymnastics school run by Béla Károlyi and his wife Marta. At her first Romanian National Championships, in 1971, she placed first in the all-around in the children's division. While Ungureanu was a skilled athlete, medalling at various World Cup and international events, she was frequently overshadowed by her more celebrated teammate Nadia Comăneci. She placed second to Comaneci at various events, including the Romanian Nationals. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, Ungureanu barely missed an all-around bronze, finishing fourth. She did win two individual medals in the event finals; a bronze on the balance beam and a silver on the uneven bars, and shared in the team's silver medal. Ungureau's final meet was the 1979 World University Games, where she finished first in the all-around.