Daniela Silivaș is a Romanian former artistic gymnast who won a medal in every event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, earning seven perfect 10.0 scores in a career considered one of the finest in the sport's history.
Seven perfect 10.0 scores at the 1988 Seoul Olympics — equalling Nadia Comăneci's Olympic record — accompanied Daniela Silivăș through a six-medal Games that included three individual golds on bars, beam, and floor, making her the definitive performer of an era in which Romania dominated women's gymnastics and establishing a career tally of nine individual World and Olympic titles that stood as a record at retirement. She made her senior debut at the 1985 World Championships in Montreal while still under the eligible age — Romanian officials had falsified her birth year to make her eligible, a fact she did not reveal publicly until 2002 — and won gold on balance beam with a perfect 10.0 on her very first major stage. Silivaș became the standout gymnast of the 1987 season, winning the European all-around title along with three of the four individual event finals, then adding three golds at that year's World Championships in Rotterdam despite settling for all-around bronze in one of the closest finishes in the sport's history. She arrived at the 1988 Seoul Olympics as a co-favourite for the all-around title alongside teammate Aurelia Dobre and the Soviet Union's Elena Shushunova, ultimately taking all-around silver by a margin of just 0.025 to Shushunova. What followed remains one of the most dominant individual Games performances in gymnastics history: Silivaș medalled in every single event at Seoul, winning gold on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, silver in the team and all-around competitions, and bronze on vault — six medals in total, earning seven perfect 10.0 scores along the way, equalling Nadia Comăneci's Olympic record. She closed her career with three more golds at the 1989 World Championships in Stuttgart before a serious knee injury and the upheaval of the Romanian Revolution ended her training at Deva; she formally retired in 1991 and moved to the United States, becoming a gymnastics coach. She retired with nine individual World and Olympic titles, a career record at the time, and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2002.
Medalling in every event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and scoring seven perfect 10.0s
How They Played
Technically flawless all-around gymnast renowned for artistry on balance beam and floor exercise
Lasting Impact
Regarded as one of the most technically brilliant gymnasts in history, holding a then-record nine individual World and Olympic titles
Career Honours
- 3x Olympic gold (uneven bars, balance beam, floor, 1988)
- Olympic silver, team and all-around (1988)
- Olympic bronze, vault (1988)
- European all-around champion (1987)
- 9 individual World and Olympic titles, a career record
- International Gymnastics Hall of Fame (2002)