Gymnastics Great Nadia Comaneci Gifted NFT for 'Perfect Ten' Anniversary

Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games. (AFP)
Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games. (AFP)
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Gymnastics Great Nadia Comaneci Gifted NFT for 'Perfect Ten' Anniversary

Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games. (AFP)
Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games. (AFP)

Romanian former gymnastics star Nadia Comaneci was gifted an NFT - a type of digital asset - by a group of Romanian creatives to mark the 45th anniversary since she became the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympic Games.

The NFT is a digital necklace made of 10 pieces that are 3D renderings of vault, uneven bars, beam and floor moves she performed in Montreal in 1976.

It was created by a designer, an architect, a visual artist and an IT programmer and presented during Romanian Creative Week, an event showcasing design in the eastern city of Iasi earlier this month.

"I am glad to see that my performance from 45 years ago continues to inspire the young generation," Comaneci, who now resides in Oklahoma, said in a video message.

"I liked the idea of a new type of pioneering, this time at the intersection between athletic performance and technology."

Six other NFTs inspired by the "Perfect Ten" were created and will be auctioned off on Open Sea, the NFT marketplace, on July 18, the exact day when Comaneci made history.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are blockchain-based digital assets ranging from art and videos to songs and tweets that have exploded in popularity during the pandemic as enthusiasts and investors scramble to spend enormous sums of money on items that only exist online.



Chinese Tech Giant Huawei Says Profits Fell 28% Last Year

(FILES) A Huawei logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai on June 26, 2024. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
(FILES) A Huawei logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai on June 26, 2024. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
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Chinese Tech Giant Huawei Says Profits Fell 28% Last Year

(FILES) A Huawei logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai on June 26, 2024. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
(FILES) A Huawei logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai on June 26, 2024. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

Chinese smartphone maker giant Huawei said Monday that profits fell 28 percent last year as it faced international economic uncertainty and weak consumption at home.

The Shenzhen-based company has been at the center of an intense standoff between China and the United States after Washington warned its equipment could be used for espionage by the Chinese government, an allegation Huawei denies.

Sanctions since 2019 have cut the firm's access to US-made components and technologies, forcing it to diversify its growth strategy.

The company announced Monday that it made a net profit of 62.6 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) last year, down from 87 billion yuan in 2023.

Revenue rose 22 percent on-year -- marking a third successive increase after a sharp drop in 2021 during the pandemic.

Its 862.1 billion yuan in revenue was the highest since the figure surpassed 890 billion yuan in 2020.

The results were "in line with forecast", the company's rotating chairwoman Sabrina Meng said in a statement, according to AFP.

Employees "banded together to tackle a wide range of external challenges", Meng said, adding that the firm was "firmly committed to its quality goals and will keep honing quality as a competitive edge".

US sanctions have since 2019 cut Huawei off from global supply chains for technology and US-made components, a move that initially hammered its production of smartphones.

Last year, the company unveiled its first smartphone equipped with a fully homegrown operating system, a test of its ability to challenge the dominance of Western juggernauts.

It also released the world's first triple-folding phone, launched hours after its US rival Apple lifted the curtain on its newest iPhone.

Apple remains popular among Chinese consumers but has ceded ground to domestic players such as Huawei in recent years.

Huawei remains one of the world's leading equipment manufacturers for 5G, the fifth generation of mobile internet, and has been involved in infrastructure projects in numerous countries.