Nadia Lands In New York, Given U.S. Refugee Status

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, the diminutive darling of the 1976 Olympics with her seven perfect 10s, flew to the United States today after her stunning defection three days earlier.

The 28-year-old Comaneci was to land this afternoon at John F. Kennedy International Airport on a flight from Vienna, an airline spokeswoman confirmed.

Her former coach, Bela Karolyi, said her final destination is Indianapolis, headquarters of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation.

“I talked with the American Gymnastic Federation, and we worked out a plan,” Karolyi said from Stuttgart, West Germany, where he was coaching the U.S. women in a gymnastics meet.

“Federation officials are to pick her up today in New York. Then they are going to Indianapolis, where the first press conference is to be organized, to be assisted by the federation.”

Earlier, Justice Department spokesman David Runkel confirmed that Comaneci, who fled her homeland for Hungary on Tuesday, had been granted refugee status and was “in the air on her way to this country.”

The refugee status means U.S. officials believe Comaneci has a well-founded fear of persecution if she returns to Romania, where the hard-line Marxist government has rejected the reformist tide sweeping other East European countries.

She would be eligible to apply for permanent resident status in the U.S. in one year, U.S. officials who requested anonymity said.