Nadia to Wed ‘Friend’ She Left Behind

Nadia Comaneci, gymnast sweetheart of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, says she plans to wed the “best friend” she left behind in Romania, 30-year-old Mihai Vasilescu.

Comaneci, in Tokyo to appear on television, denied reports that she was romantically involved with her American manager, Constantine Panait.

Panait, who accompanied her to Tokyo, is a married father of four who helped Comaneci escape Romania, just before it erupted in revolution, and to seek refuge in the United States.

“We will get married when he (Vasilescu) arrives,” a beaming, demurely dressed Comaneci told reporters.

“He is tall, and he is quite handsome,” she said of the computer programmer, who she said will join her in Los Angeles in two or three months.

Comaneci, winner of three gold medals and a perfect 10 score in Montreal, said she is making an autobiographical movie in the United States that will end with her defection from Romania.

“But after the movie, I would like to go back into gymnastics and coach children,” she said.