So I will always make decisions that I believe how I can select the best team for the best interests of the country. "I am not in a popularity contest here," she said. In her final campaign as national women's team coordinator for USA Gymnastics, which will select its 2016 Olympic team next weekend, Martha Karolyi is 73 years old with the energy of a woman in her 40s, utterly sure of herself and undeniably in charge and unafraid to speak her mind. There are certain things I very much require."Īs generations of gymnasts would attest, that is the understatement of a lifetime. "If you go to a grocery store, they are wearing their uniforms. "If you go to work at a bank, you are dressed in a suit and tie because that is proper for a bank," she said. Away from the floor, though, it gives way to a friendly smile and talk about cooking, family and travel as Karolyi walks through the family's rustic home in the Sam Houston National Forest.īut when she walks the hundred yards or so to the USA Gymnastics women's training center complex, everyday clothes are replaced by a red, white and blue warmup suit, enforcing for herself the same rule that applies to anyone who walks onto the gym floor. The look of fierce concentration is most familiar to fans of the sport. women's national team coordinator, Karolyi has produced the most powerful team in the world, favorites to sweep the team title and a handful of individual medals at the 2016 Olympics. HUNTSVILLE - Nothing escapes the all-knowing, all-seeing gaze of Martha Karolyi, from the way a gymnast walks, holds her hands or performs when gold medals are on the line. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle ) Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 8 of8 Martha Karolyi Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 7 of8 A walk of fame holds bricks for the USA Gymnastics teams and members who have trained at the Karolyi's facility near New Waverly, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Houston. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle ) Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 6 of8 Martha Karolyi says she is "very happy with everything" at the 70-acre ranch near New Waverly where she and her husband, Bela, train gymnasts and which will remain as the national training center after she retires. Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 5 of8 A walk of fame holds bricks for the USA Gymnastics teams and members who have trained at the Karolyi's facility near New Waverly, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Houston. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle ) Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 4 of8 Martha Karolyi says she is "very happy with everything" at the 70-acre ranch near New Waverly where she and her husband, Bela, train gymnasts and which will remain as the national training center after she retires. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle ) Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 3 of8 Marta Karolyi at the Karolyi Ranch near New Waverly where she and her husband, Bela Karolyi, train gymnasts, including members of the Women's National Team, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Houston. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle ) Mark Mulligan/Staff Show More Show Less 2 of8 Marta Karolyi at the Karolyi Ranch near New Waverly where she and her husband, Bela Karolyi, train gymnasts, including members of the Women's National Team, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Houston. 1 of8 Marta Karolyi at the Karolyi Ranch near New Waverly where she and her husband, Bela Karolyi, train gymnasts, including members of the Women's National Team, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Houston.
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