About Dominique Moceanu
As the daughter of two former Romanian gymnasts, it was almost inevitable that Dominique Moceanu would follow in her parents' well balanced footsteps. At the young age of 3 and a half, Dominique began taking gymnastics classes in Highland Park, IL. While Dominique's athletic interests appeared to most as only a childhood hobby, gymnastics rapidly developed into her ultimate passion and, unbeknownst to the world, an Olympic Champion was in the making. By age 10, Dominique's inherited talent and evident ability were obvious. She dreamed of one day competing at the elite level, joining the ranks of Nadia Comaneci, Betty Okino, and Mary Lou Retton. Dominique solidified her committment to success in 1991 when she began training with world-renowned coach Bela Karolyi. With Bela's instruction, visions of becoming a champion manifested into reality. Dominique was well on her way to securing her place in gymnastics history. Only 7 months after joining Karolyi's gym, Dominique became the youngest member to qualify for the U.S. Jr. National Team. At the 1992 Jr. National Championships, she won a silver medal in the balance beam competition and placed fifth in the all-around. That same year, as the youngest gymnast to ever compete at the Pan America Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she captured five gold medals, including the all-around competition, floor exercise, uneven bars, and vault. Although the 1993 Junior National Championships did not result quite as successfully as 1992, Dominique considers her seventh place all-around finish to be one of her greatest competitions as a learning experience. Karolyi's philosophy, "you can always do better," inspired an even greater dedication in Dominique's training regimen and resulted in her triumphant all-around title and gold medal in the floor exercise and vault at the 1994 Jr. Nationals. 1995 proved to be a stellar year for Dominique. After winning a gold medal in the uneven bars at the Reese's International Gymnastics Cup, she placed first in vault at the American Classic. Advancing to the senior division, Dominique continued her winning streak at the Visa Challenge by capturing her first all-around title against an international field, winning a gold medal in the floor exercise as well as the team gold. At the 1995 U.S. Nationals (Sr. Division) in New Orleans, Dominique, in her first major national meet, become the youngest gymnast in U.S. history to capture the all-around title. Shortly after, Dominique won a gold medal in the all-around competition at the World Team Trials. Two months later, she won a silver medal on the balance beam at the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Japan, placing fifth overall, the best finish for an American. Leading up to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Dominique unfortunately experienced a painful stress fracture in her tibia, resulting in disappointing U.S. Nationals and World Championship finishes. Furthermore, her injury had a considerable impact on her Olympic performance, preempting her chances for an individual gold medal. Although Dominique's Olympic performance did not result in an individual medal, it did earn the team gold medal. Subsequently, the 1996 Gymnastics team, becoming the first American Women's Gymnastics Team to win the Olympic team gold medal, was dubbed the "Magnificent 7." Following the 1996 Olympics, Karolyi retired, and Dominique began training under Luminita Miscenco, a former gymnast at the famous school in Deva, Romania. Doubt arose about ...