10 Sportspeople Considered The Greatest Ever
4. Gymnastics: Nadia Comăneci
What's better than 'perfect'? Logically, the answer is nothing.
Women's gymnastics had been introduced to the Olympic Games as early as 1928, and for the best part of half a century, whilst technically possible, it was deemed basically unfeasible that any competitor could attain a score beyond 9.95 (out of a maximum of 10.0).
Then Nadia Comăneci turned up. Aged just fourteen, the Romanian took to the uneven bars in a dazzling display of flawless flexibility at the 1976 Montréal games. As she landed with a grin as stretched as her supple limbs, the hushed masses in the attendance gave way to a sea of confusion when her score was displayed: 1.00.
Such was the expectation that a flawless score could never be achieved, scoreboard manufacturer Omega SA had been informed prior to the event that a display showing four digits would not be necessary. It soon became clear that the paltry score of 1.00 was something even more unimaginable: a perfect 10.
Alongside a further six perfect scores, Comăneci also became the youngest all-around gymnastic gold medalist - a feat that is now impossible to legally match thanks to the competition's adjusted age requirements.
Comăneci's exquisite exhibition of equilibrium catapulted the popularity of gymnastics, and the teenager became one of the world's most iconic sports stars in an instant.
Others latterly managed the same hitherto unattainable score - Comăneci's rival Nelli Kim managed it later in the same games - but judges had never dared even consider a 10 until the Romanian came along.
An Alternative Choice: Larisa Latynina
For reasons that weren't always necessarily entirely sporting, the Soviet Union monopolised the Olympics and in particular gymnastics during the Cold War. Latynina was the embodiment of the USSR's stranglehold, and her haul of 18 Olympic medals stood unmatched until Michael Phelps left her in his super-speedy wake. Just how good was Latynina? Consider this: she was untouchable in the 1958 World Championships, claiming five of the six available medals on offer - despite being four months pregnant at the time.