Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, has died. He was 82.

Karolyi and wife Martha trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the US and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.

Bela Karolyi and his wife, Martha, defected to the U.S. in 1981 and trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.