In the gymnastics world there are many names that people know. Names such as Nadia Comaneci, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas, Bela Karolyi, Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug, and etc. However there is one name that sticks out the most: Martha Karolyi. Martha Karolyi just finished her last Olympics as the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team Coordinator. Martha has had a very successful run, which started in 2001 when she took the program over from her husband Bela Karolyi.

Martha Karolyi is originally from Romania. She and her husband moved to the United States in 1981. Her husband Bela was the women's national team coordinator from 1991 to 2001. Martha then took over in 2001 and has changed the United States gymnastics program. When Martha took over the program in 2001, she helped the U.S. Women Gymnastics team win its first team medal since 1996 at the 2001 World Championships. She also helped the U.S. Women the team gold medal at the 2003 World Championships. The U.S. Women then went on to win the team silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. At this very same Olympics, Carly Patterson won the all around gold medal. The U.S. also came home with three individual event medals: two silvers and a bronze. This gave Martha a very successful first quadrennium as the national team coordinator.

The next quadrennium became even more successful than the first under Martha. The 2005 World Championships were individual events. In the all around the US went 1-2. The U.S. walked away from that World Championships with nine medals, four of which were gold. At the 2006 World Championships, the U.S. team won the team silver medal. They also walked away with two individual silvers, one of which came in the all around. A year later at the 2007 World Championships, the U.S. won the team gold medal. The U.S. also walked away with six individual medals, three of whom were gold and one of the gold medals coming in the all around. The 2008 Olympics in Beijing were the most successful Olympics for the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team to date. The U.S. won the team silver medal. They also received seven individual events. Two of these seven individual medals came in the all around. This was the most successful four years of Martha's time as the national team coordinator.

In the four years leading up to London, the world saw more U.S. gymnastics dominance. The 2009 World Championships were another individual world championships. The U.S. earned five individual medals. Two of these medals were the gold and silver in the all around. At the 2010 World Championships the U.S. won the team silver medal behind Russia. The U.S. walked away from these world championships with four individual medals. The 2011 World Championships were the first of a long line of team gold medals in a row for the US. The U.S. won the team gold medal along with the individual all around gold medal. They also won three more individual medals at these World Championships. This lead up to the 2012 Olympics in London where the U.S. team won the team gold and the gold in the all around. The U.S. also won three more individual medals at these Olympics. This quadrennium was the most dominant from the U.S. women.

The 2013 World Championships began Simone Biles' campaign of dominance. The 2013 World Championships were individual world championships. The U.S. won eight medals at these World Championships. Three of the medals were gold. At the 2014 World Championships the U.S. Women continued to dominate the sport of gymnastics. They once again won the team gold medal along with the all around gold and bronze medals. On top of these medals the U.S. won four more individual medals. The 2015 World Championships just saw more of the Americans dominating. They won the team gold for the second straight world championships and Simone Biles won the all around for the third straight world championships. The U.S. also won the silver all around medal. The U.S. also won three more gold medals and a bronze. At the 2016 Olympics the U.S. was the most dominate team there. The U.S. won the team gold medal. Simone Bile and Aly Raisman went 1-2 in the all around. On top of this, the U.S. added two more gold medals, three silver medals, and a bronze medal to their medal count. This was the most successful quadrennium Martha had ever been a part of.

Martha helped created the most dominate gymnastics program in the world. Her retirement brings the end of an era. Even though Martha will no longer be apart of the program, the United States still has a very bright future.

All information comes from the US Gymnastics YouTube page.