Gymnastics is so huge in the Olympics. There are a lot of fans who want to see more.
See, when I went to the Olympics in '76, the gymnastics people knew that I was good, but everybody else, after I won, everybody was like, 'Where's she coming from? Who is she? What is Romania?'
When I look back, I am happy that my mum took me to the gymnastics club. I didn't join gymnastics to become a famous athlete or celebrity; it just happened - I did more than I expected, of course.
Maybe that's why I like gymnastics - because I like to fly.
Ceausescu thought I had only a few medals, but I have a room full of them in Bucharest, between 150-200 in all. They needed suitcases to haul them out.
I was turning actually 15 at the Olympics in '76... I don't think that one year makes a huge difference.
I made the cover of 'Sports Illustrated,' 'Newsweek' and 'Time' all in one week, and I didn't even know what that meant.
We developed a system in Romania that was very successfully continued for a number of years, but I don't know if it was because of some conflict in the organisation or whether there was government interference... but somehow, they have forgotten the importance of raising gymnasts to be ready for every Olympics.
Nellie Kim, an Olympic champion from the former Soviet Union, got a 10 right after me in '76, but nobody talks about that.
I know my life story sounds too extraordinary to be true.
Now, I have a kid, I have businesses to take care of, I have to travel. I have to sit down... and find a little time for me.
I used to tell people if they looked at a map, it was right in the middle of the United States. But now everybody knows Oklahoma because of the Thunder and their success. I don't know if I'll get 'Why?' anymore.
I hoped to win a medal and hoped it would be gold. I knew I was good but didn't know I would be the one to score something that had never been done before.
I remember before the Olympics, I was asked, 'What do you think you're going to do in the Olympics?' and I said, 'I'm hoping I'm going to win a medal, and, if possible, it's going to be a gold one.'
That's what everybody remembers. They don't remember how many medals I won in my career. They remember the 10s.
Two gold medals and two silver, I don't think is that bad... I think I still did a pretty good job.
I ended up in the US for a month or so, before moving to Montreal with some Romanian friends.
In Montreal, I kept thinking, 'Pay attention: this is the Olympics! It only happens once every four years!'
Two days after returning from Montreal, I was training again, and I went on to win two more golds at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
When I went into the Montreal Games, nobody expected much out of me.
