Dominique Moceanu

Dominique Helena Moceanu (Template:IPAc-en, Template:Respell; Template:IPA; born September 30, 1981) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal-winning United States women's gymnastics team, the "Magnificent Seven", at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She won two medals at the 1995 World Championships and the all-around title at the 1998 Goodwill Games.

Moceanu trained under Marta and Béla Károlyi, and later Luminița Miscenco and Mary Lee Tracy. She earned her first national team berth at age 10 and represented the United States in various international competitions at the junior level. She was the all-around silver medalist at the 1992 Junior Pan American Championships and the 1994 junior national all-around champion. In 1995, at the age of 13, she became the youngest gymnast to win the senior all-around title at the U.S. Championships. She was the youngest member of both the 1995 World Championships and the 1996 Olympic teams.

Moceanu's last major success in gymnastics was at the 1998 Goodwill Games, where she became the first American to win the all-around gold medal. Family problems, coaching changes, and injuries derailed her efforts to make the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and she retired from the sport in 2000. Since then, she has worked as a coach, studied business management, and written a memoir, Off Balance.

Early life

Moceanu was born in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on September 30, 1981,<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> to Romanian Americans Dumitru Moceanu (1954–2008)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Camelia Moceanu (née Staicu; b. 1961).<ref name="stld"/> Both of her parents were gymnasts in Romania.<ref name=":1"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both of her parents were ethnic Aromanians, and Dominique speaks the Aromanian language fluently.<ref name="aro1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her parents emigrated from Romania to the United States in 1980.<ref name=":1"/><ref name="sister">Template:Cite news</ref> She has two younger siblings, Jennifer Bricker (born 1987), who was born without legs and adopted shortly after birth by Gerald and Sharon Bricker; and Christina Moceanu Chapman (born 1989).<ref name="stld">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> She began training as a gymnast at the age of three in Illinois,<ref name=":1"/> and at the age of ten, the family relocated to Houston, Texas, in order for her to train with Béla Károlyi and Márta Károlyi.<ref name="ig06">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Gymnastics career

Early career

Less than a year after beginning to train with the Károlyis, Moceanu finished fifth in the all-around at the 1992 U.S. Championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was then selected for the junior national team at 10 years old.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":3" /> She won five medals, four gold and one silver, at the 1992 Junior Pan American Games as the youngest competitor of the event.<ref name=":1"/><ref name="cleveland">Template:Cite web</ref> She finished fourth in the floor exercise final at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival after the crowd booed her score, leading the judges to increase it from 9.600 to 9.650.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She became the junior national all-around champion in 1994.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1995, Moceanu became the youngest gymnast ever to win the all-around title at the U.S. Championships at the age of 13.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="latimes"/> She was also the youngest member of the U.S. team at the 1995 World Championships, helping the team win the bronze medal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She finished fifth in the all-around and was the highest-placing American.<ref name="ig06" /> She won a silver medal in the balance beam final, tying with Ukraine's Lilia Podkopayeva with a score of 9.837.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Moceanu's national and international successes, combined with her bubbly attitude, earned her attention and a wide fan base both in and out of the gymnastics community in the lead up to the 1996 Summer Olympics.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="latimes">Template:Cite web</ref> Before the Olympics, she was featured in Vanity Fair,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and she wrote an autobiography, Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion, with Steve Woodward.<ref>Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion. Dominique Moceanu, as told to Steve Woodward. BT/Yearing, 1995, Template:ISBN.</ref> The book reached number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1996 Summer Olympics

Moceanu was expected to be a major medal contender at the 1996 Summer Olympics, held in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref name=":3" /> However, after the 1996 U.S. Championships, where she placed third in the all-around, she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her right tibia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her injury forced her to sit out the Olympic Trials,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but she was petitioned onto the team on the strength of her U.S. Championship scores.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the Olympic Games, still struggling with her injury and sporting a heavily bandaged leg, Moceanu contributed to the team gold medal with performances good enough to qualify her for the event finals on the balance beam and floor exercise. However, she faltered in the last rotation of team optionals, falling on both vaults.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite news</ref> Her teammate Kerri Strug vaulted after her to clinch the gold for the United States, but injured her ankle in the process.<ref name=":10" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moceanu took Strug's place in the all-around finals,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but she made a mistake on the balance beam and placed ninth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the balance beam final, she fell when she missed a foot on a layout and hit her head on the balance beam. She finished the routine and went on to have a strong performance in the floor exercise finals later that day, finishing fourth.<ref name=":11">Template:Cite web</ref>

Post-Olympics

File:Dominique Moceanu.JPG

Moceanu in 2006

After the 1996 Olympics, Moceanu participated in professional gymnastics exhibitions, including a 34-city tour,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> before returning to competition. With the retirement of the Károlyis, she began training with other coaches at Moceanu Gymnastics, a gym built and run by her family.<ref name="ig06" /><ref name="change"/> She placed ninth in the all-around at the 1997 U.S. Championships. Because of new age eligibily rules that prevented gymnasts younger than 16 from competing at international competitions, Moceanu was named to the six-person team for the 1997 World Championships.<ref name="change">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There, she led the mostly inexperienced U.S. team to a sixth-place finish.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite web</ref> She also qualified for the individual all-around final, finishing 14th.<ref name="change"/>

In 1998, she began working with a new coach, Luminiţa Miscenco,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and she adjusted to a significant growth spurt.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the 1998 Goodwill Games, she became the first non-Russian to win the all-around title. In doing so, she defeated the reigning World all-around champion, Svetlana Khorkina, and the World silver and bronze medalists, Simona Amânar and Yelena Produnova. She outscored the second-place finisher, Maria Olaru, by 0.687 points.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later that year, she won the bronze medal in the all-around at the U.S. Championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Two years later, training with Mary Lee Tracy at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, Moceanu placed eighth in the all-around at the 2000 U.S. Championships. She qualified for the Olympic Trials, but she withdrew due to knee injury.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the fall of 2000, Moceanu participated in a post-Olympics national exhibition tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also participated in the post-Olympics Rock N' Roll Gymnastics Championship Tour in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After a five-year hiatus from elite gymnastics, Moceanu announced in 2005 that she was returning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An injury kept her from competing that year,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but she continued to train on the floor exercise and the vault,<ref name="ig06" /> and in the summer of 2006, she was invited to attend the USA Gymnastics national team training camp.<ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref> Moceanu competed at the 2006 U.S. Classic, where she successfully performed a full-twisting Tsukahara vault. On the floor exercise, however, she went out of bounds on one tumbling pass and fell on another, posting one of the lowest scores of the meet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a result, she did not qualify to the 2006 U.S. Championships.<ref name=":13" /> She stated that USA Gymnastics officials had told her she would qualify if she attended the national training camp and competed at least one event at the U.S. Classic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> But after the U.S. Classic, she was told that she had needed a combined score on two events of 28.0 or higher to qualify, and her combined score on vault and floor was 27.1.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite web</ref> She appealed the decision, but it was upheld.<ref name=":14" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

File:She Looks Like Me Crew WikiPortrait at SXSW 2024 from March 11, 2024.jpg

"She Looks Like Me" cast and crew at SXSW 2024 (Torquil Jones, Jen Bricker–Bauer, and Dominique Moceanu)

On October 27, 1998, Moceanu was emancipated by a Houston court, eleven months prior to her 18th birthday. Moceanu had reportedly run away from home earlier that month, on October 17, and filed for emancipation on October 19. She accused her parents of abuse and exploitation, and alleged they had used US$4,000,000 of her earnings to build a 70,000 square foot gymnastic training center in Spring, Texas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Chicago">Template:Cite web</ref> Moceanu's parents ultimately decided not to fight her in court and she was given control over her future earnings and allowed to live independently, though her father remained in charge of her trust.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The family ultimately settled her past earning privately.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Despite her father's claim that the family gym was a financial success, it permanently closed in February 1999, less than two years after it opened. She eventually reconciled with her father, with him walking her down the aisle at her wedding in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ig06" />

Moceanu is married to Dr. Michael Canales, a podiatrist and collegiate gymnast. The two wed on November 4, 2006, in Houston, in a Romanian Orthodox ceremony attended by fellow gymnasts Paul Hamm, Morgan Hamm, Bart Conner, and Nadia Comăneci.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They first met in 1994, when Moceanu was 12 years old. Together, they have three children, born in 2007, 2009 and 2022.<ref name="People_20090314">Template:Cite journal</ref> Their second child and only son, Vincent, is reportedly interested in pursuing a career in gymnastics, appearing on American Ninja Warrior Junior in 2020, and voiced hope to compete at the 2028 Summer Olympics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Moceanu attended Northland Christian School and graduated from John Carroll University, earning a degree in business management in 2009.<ref name="Chicago"/><ref name="usaghof">Template:Cite web</ref> After coaching part-time at Gymnastics World in Broadview Heights, Ohio,<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref> she runs the Dominique Moceanu Gymnastics Center in Medina, Ohio, where her son Vincent Canales also trains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Memoir and sister

In her memoir Off Balance, Moceanu had discovered she has a younger sister, Jennifer Bricker, who was born without legs and was given up for adoption at the hospital at birth.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":16">Template:Cite web</ref> Bricker is an acrobat and aerialist who idolized Moceanu before finding out they were sisters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The documentaries Eva Longoria's Versus: Romanian Roots<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (a spinoff of ESPN's 30 for 30) and She Looks Like Me from director Torquil Jones tells the story of the two discovering their connection.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Off Balance, Moceanu also alleged that Béla and Marta Károlyi were abusive and manipulative when she trained under them.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moceanu, Jamie Dantzscher, and Jessica Howard testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 28, 2017, about the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nytimessenate">Template:Cite web</ref> Moceanu shared that she had not been sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar but explained how the Károlyis created a culture of abuse and fear.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Competitive history

Competitive history of Dominique Moceanu at the junior level<ref name=":1" />

Year	Event	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1991	American Classic		7
1992	U.S. Classic		10
	U.S. Championships		5
	Junior Pan American Championships	Template:Gold1	Template:Silver2	Template:Gold1	Template:Gold1		Template:Gold1
1993	American Classic		10
	U.S. Classic		8
	U.S. Championships		7
1994	American Classic		4
	U.S. Championships		Template:Gold1	Template:Gold1	Template:Bronze3	Template:Bronze3	Template:Gold1

Competitive history of Dominique Moceanu at the senior level<ref name=":1" />

Year	Event	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1995	American Classic		Template:Silver2	Template:Gold1		Template:Bronze3	Template:Bronze3
	U.S. Championships		Template:Gold1	Template:Bronze3	6	5	Template:Silver2
	World Team Trials		Template:Gold1
	World Championships	Template:Bronze3	5			Template:Silver2	7
1996	U.S. Championships		Template:Bronze3
	Olympic Games	Template:Gold1	9			6	4
1997	U.S. Championships		9
	World Championships	6	14
1998	Goodwill Games		Template:Gold1
	U.S. Championships		Template:Bronze3	Template:Silver2		Template:Silver2	Template:Bronze3
2000	U.S. Classic		6
	U.S. Championships		8

External links

• Template:FIG
• Dominique Moceanu at USA Gymnastics
• Template:Olympics.com
• Template:Olympedia
• Off Balance: A Memoir - Dominique Moceanu with Paul & Teri Williams, 2012, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, Template:ISBN
• Template:Webarchive
• Template:Webarchive
• Template:Webarchive