Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English, University of Sydney

Olympic star Nadia Comăneci was a Romanian 'hero' who defected to escape her government. What do her surveillance files reveal?

Composite image of Nadia Comaneci at the Montreal Olympic Games, 1976. AP

“On the night of 27–28 November 1989,” Stejărel Olaru writes, “seven people hurriedly but warily made their way towards the frontier between Romania and Hungary.”

Five-time Olympic gold-medal-winning Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci was one of those scrambling across fields in the dark.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.