Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Dominique Moceanu an American Champion by Dominique Moceanu Dominique Moceanu: an American Champion by Dominique Moceanu. PERSONAL INFO. Moceanu moved from the USOTC to Cincinnati Gymnastics earlier this year to train with Mary Lee Tracy and other elites at Concinnati Gymnastics Academy in hopes of making the 2000 Olympic Team. She competed in the U.S. Classic this July, her first competition since 1998. She lives with her mother Camelia, whom she declares her greatest role model, and sister Christina in Cincinnati while she trains for the Games. After competitive gymnastics, she'd like to be involved in acting, modeling and television. She also plans on attending college. Moceanu was the youngest member (14) of the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic Team and finished ninth in the all-around competition. When she and her teammates appeared on the Wheaties cereal box, she became the youngest athlete ever to receive the honor. After competitive gymnastics, she'd like to be involved in television. Dominique's younger sister, Christina, also is gymnast. Dominique speaks fluent Romanian. Before moving to Houston to train with Bela Karolyi, the family lived in California, Illinois and Florida. Dominique was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1996 and appeared in a Kodak TV commercial. She has a book, Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion , on the market. Dominique enjoys swimming, reading, shopping, playing on her computer and listening to music. After competitive gymnastics, she'd like to be involved in television. Gold medalist Dominique Moceanu warned us 10 years ago about abuse in USA Gymnastics. In 1998, Dominique Moceanu broke the image of the happy, perky champion gymnast when she emancipated from her father, whom she described as violent and manipulative. A decade later, she publicly accused coaches Béla Károlyi and Márta Károlyi of emotional and physical abuse. USA Gymnastics dismissed her allegations. Today, Moceanu says she's proud of the women who came forward to testify against Larry Nassar, the former doctor for the USA Gymnastics team. But she's also disappointed that her contemporaries haven't stepped forward to support her, to this day. “I just signed your death warrant.” That's what a Michigan judge said on Wednesday, when Larry Nassar, the former doctor for the USA Gymnastics team, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 160 girls and women over the past two decades, including a number of prominent Olympic athletes who came forward in recent months. Amid a barrage of harrowing testimonies, the inevitable question was, how could this happen? “Quit shaming and blaming the parents,” said Anne Swinehart to the court earlier this week. Swinehart’s daughter, Jillian Swinehart, is one of the gymnasts who accused Nassar of abuse. “Trust me, you would not have known. And you would not have done anything differently.” Sexual predators are extremely agile at manipulating their communities. Nassar hid behind the gymnasts’ successes. And he was able to do so with the blessing of USA Gymnastics. In 2014, USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said Nassar’s “contributions over the years are immeasurable and will continue to be so.” USA Gymnastics is now being called out for egregious negligence. The Indianapolis Star found that USA Gymnastics caught wind of Nassar’s behavior in June 2015, and it took them five weeks to contact the FBI. And when USA Gymnastics let Nassar go, in July of that year, they failed to contact Michigan State University or the training camp in Huntsville, Texas (run by legendary coaches Béla Károlyi and Márta Károlyi), where Nassar continued to see patients. Athletes were pressured and coaxed to stay silent. Gymnast McKayla Maroney, who alleged sexual abuse by Nassar over the course of five years, signed a confidential $1.25 million settlement agreement with USA Gymnastics in the fall of 2016. In a scathing interview with ESPN last week, Olympian Aly Raisman said of USA Gymnastics, “Their biggest priority from the beginning and still today, is their reputation, the medals they win and the money they make off of us.” The Nassar case has garnered national and international attention, in part because of the unbelievable scope of his abuses. But over a decade ago, there was another voice calling out abuse in the gymnastics world. At only 14, in 1996, Dominique Moceanu became the youngest US gymnast to win Olympic gold. She was admired by girls all over the country and hailed as an American hero. In 1998, when she was 17, Moceanu broke the image of the happy, perky champion gymnast when she emancipated from her father, whom she described as violent and manipulative. A decade later, she publicly accused coaches Béla Károlyi and Márta Károlyi of emotional and physical abuse. USA Gymnastics dismissed her allegations. Márta Károlyi said the way Moceanu remembered things made her “sad.” And there was the constant implication — including from some fellow gymnasts, that Olympic training is just hard. “For the last 10 years, I spoke up. I said something when I finally had the courage to, in 2008," Moceanu told The World. "I recognized how dangerous this culture was; it was headed down a very dark road.” Moceanu was shocked by the amount of pushback she got, including from the then-president of USA Gymnastics. “‘Do you know the long-term damage to these young ladies when they leave the sport? Have you thought about that?’ No. Because all they cared about was they were winning. So, nobody was asking questions.” Moceanu says she's proud of the women who have come forward to testify against Nassar. But she's also disappointed that her contemporaries haven't stepped forward to support her, to this day. With her coaches, she says, “it was verbal and emotional abuses running rampant. The adults around the sport should have spoken up more when they saw this toxic culture.” Moceanu says, “calling my father, to enforce physical punishment on me, was the scariest thing of it all. I was terrified every time I went to the gym — my coaches would threaten me, that if I didn’t perform well enough, to their liking, they would call my father … and Béla had that deep voice. And it scared the 'bejeebies' out of me.” Even up until her Olympic win, she was terrified. “At the Olympics, before I received my gold medal, I was crying. I was crying because I felt like a disappointment to Márta and Béla.” She says after winning the gold, she felt empty. “I felt like I was a disappointment, and I felt saddened. Because I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t perfect enough.” Moceanu says that a culture that allowed such abuses to persist opened the door for someone like Nassar to prey on young women. Nassar, she says, “knew of the verbal, psychological, emotional abuses that the Károlyis were doing to the athletes. And he chose to exploit it for his personal pleasure.” But she says "change will happen, and it's starting to happen . there are finally actions being taken." Sponsors including AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Hershey’s, Under Armour and Kellogg’s have pulled out their endorsements of the organization. USA Gymnastics' chairman and several board members have resigned. And Wednesday night, Michigan State University President Anna K. Simon announced she is stepping down. Additionally, there's the issue of how gymnasts can protect themselves going forward. Professor Marc Edelman, who specializes in sports law, says gymnasts need to unionize. Speaking from his office at Baruch College in New York, he talked about how professional athletes in the four major American sports — baseball, football, basketball and hockey — are all unionized. The unions look after their salaries and also personal safety. The NFL union, for example, has advocated for further education, research and independent oversight of player concussions. Edelman has worked as an adviser for professional football teams, one of the roughest American sports. Which is why his stance is so striking: “My view has been that the women gymnasts and the women ice skaters in the United States are in the worst position for protecting themselves under the status quo. First, as compared to the athletes that compete in most other Olympic sports, or in professional sports around the United States, these young women are far younger. As young as 14, 15, 16 years old.” It’s a perfect scenario for a predator, he says — where young girls are told to do whatever their superiors tell them, to get to the top, not to question it. Edelman says money plays a huge factor in how vulnerable the young women and their families are. In the NFL, the minimum salary is more than $400,000 a year. Players have bargaining power. Meanwhile, a gymnast makes next to nothing. The US Olympic committee gives $25,000 for a gold medal, and endorsements come in for the superstars. “A reasonable union might try to impose some type of review of people who are providing services to the athletes,” says Edelman. “They might create internally a form of whistleblower protection to allow athletes to bring complaints directly to them. The union would have the duty to investigate these complaints as well as, perhaps, provide the athletes with the legal costs to seek attorneys, to seek psychological help and to make sure these individuals are removed.” Ultimately, Edelman says if these systemic issues aren't addressed, there could be another tragedy. “We’ve seen this over and over again. We saw this with the molestation of hockey players in Canada in the late 1990s, where the coach was deemed to be evil but they didn’t look at the greater structure. We saw this with [Jerry] Sandusky at Penn State . What needs to be done is not just play pop-a-mole with these individual monsters, but rather putting an infrastructure in place. To make it a lot more likely that these monsters will be detected. That, as people have concerns, swift action is taken.” One of the biggest hurdles gymnastics now faces is getting fans to love the sport again. This is something Dominique Moceanu herself had to face after the 1996 Olympics — how to fall back in love with a sport that hurt so much. “I always loved gymnastics. It wasn’t that the sport ever harmed me itself . it was the adults that created it to be twisted and warped.” She says it is a beautiful sport that allowed her to jump and fly and twist in the air. But things need to change. “Honestly, in the courtroom, just a couple of days ago, when I sat and supported the brave women that have come forward, I felt more love and support than I ever have at any USA Gymnastics event in the last 10 years.” Want a seat at the table? Every morning, the editorial team at public radio’s international news show The World meets to plan what they'll cover that day. Want to see what's on deck? Sign up for our daily newsletter TOP OF THE WORLD and get the big stories we’re tracking delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Dominique Moceanu. Balancing Act (Go-for-Gold Gymnasts Series #2) by Dominique Moceanu Off balance by Dominique Moceanu, Paul and Teri Williams (With) Reaching high (Go-for-Gold Gymnasts Series #3) by Dominique Moceanu Winning Team (Go-for-Gold Gymnasts Series #1) by Dominique Moceanu Unexpected twist (Go-for-Gold Gymnasts Series #4) by Dominique Moceanu. Author Event Join us as we welcome Dominique Moceanu to the SHV! Dominique will be discussing her book Off balance and her Young Readers Series, Go For Gold Gymnast Series. For more information or for event limitations please contact a bookseller at 412.835.0379. (added from Barnes & Noble) … (more) Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu with her autobiography Off Balance as well as her young reader series Go for the Gold. At the Twinsburg Library. Call the library to make a reservation for this event: 330-425-4268. Location: Street: 204 N Main St City: Hudson, Postal Code: 44236-2826 (added from IndieBound) Olympic gold medalist and author Dominique Moceanu at the Twinsburg Library. Time TBA. Location: Street: Special offsite location: 10050 Ravenna Rd. City: Twinsburg, Postal Code: 44087 Country: United States (added from IndieBound) Meet Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu. With the release of her memoir, Off Balance, and her Go for the Gold Gymnast series for young readers, Moceanu is once again at the top of her game. Off Balance is an unflinchingly honest memoir from Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu that reveals the often dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics as only an insider can - and the secrets she learned about the past that nearly tore apart her family. A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of gymnastics and sport, Off Balance will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life. Sixteen years since first gracing the Olympic stage, 1996 Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu continues to inspire countless young athletes all over the world. Proudly recognized as the youngest U.S. National Champion in gymnastics history, Dominique remains active through her involvement with camps and clinics across the country. She also delivers personal messages of motivation, focus and healthy living through her speaking engagements and special appearances. Now a mother of two, Dominique continues to extend her resume with personal and professional milestones, reflecting a distinct evolution beyond her gold medal years. Location: Street: 204 N Main St City: Hudson, Postal Code: 44236-2826 (added from IndieBound) … (more) At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Women's Olympic Gymnastic team, the first and only American women's team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixie-like appearance, passion, and competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling, but behind the fame and flawless floor routines, her life was a series of challenges and hardships. From her stubborn father and long- suffering mother, to her acclaimed Svengali-like coach, Bela Karolyi, Off Balance reveals how each of the dominating characters contributed to her rise to the top, and delves into the often dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics as only an insider can. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, how she hit rock bottom after being publicly scorned by her father, and how a family secret helped her open a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. Event Guidelines: Dominque will only be signing books, no memorabilia. Books may be personalized. Location: Street: 695 E. Colorado Blvd City: Pasadena, Province: California Postal Code: 91101 Country: United States (added from IndieBound) … (more) Inkwood will handle book sales and autographing for Dominique Moceanu and ALICIA THOMPSON at the Grand Opening Celebration at LaFLEUR'S GYMNASTIC CLUB. Moceanu and Thompson will sign copies of their two books for middle readers, WINNING TEAM and BALANCING ACT, part of The Go-for-Gold Gymnasts series. In Winning Team, 12 year old Brittany Lee Morgan, an Elite Gymnast, faces challenges making new friends when she moves from Ohio to Texas and must compete at a world class facility. In Balancing Act, Noelle Onesti, daughter of a Romanian gymnast, is worried about family finances, the distraction of her first crush, and the possibility of letting down her teammates. Both books are realistic views of young girls navigating the super-competitive world of gymnastics while dealing with real-life concerns of family, friends and school. Gymnasts will appreciate the insider language and details drawn from Moceanu’s knowledge and experience. We recommend reserving your books ahead of time: Order online (click on titles below) specifying "In-store pickup" and we'll bring them to the event, or contact us at 813-253-2638 or [email protected]. Dominique Moceanu (www.dominique-moceanu.com) is the author of the New York Times best-selling Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion. As a member of the women’s gymnastics team, she won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. She now tours the country as an ambassador for the sport, doing clinics and summer camps and speaking with young gymnasts. Dominique lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband and two children. Alicia Thompson (www.alicia-thompson.com) is the author of the young adult novel Psych Major Syndrome. She also co-wrote an updated version of The Secret Language of Birthdays for teens, and has contributed stories to Girls’ Life. Alicia lives with her husband and son in Riverview, Florida. Location: Street: 10205 Anderson Road City: Tampa, Province: Florida Country: United States (added from IndieBound) … (more) Dominique Moceanu. Dominique "Domi" Helena Moceanu (born September 30, 1981 in Hollywood, California) is an American gymnast of Romanian descent who was a member of the Olympic Gold medal winning 1996 U.S. Women's Gymnastics team in Atlanta (the "Magnificent Seven"). The hallmarks of Moceanu's gymnastics, in the early stage of her elite career, were daring tricks on balance beam and spunky, inspired presentations on the floor exercise. In the latter part of her elite career, under the direction of new coaches, she developed a more elegant, mature style. Although she was never considered to be an overwhelmingly innovative gymnast, she did display a high level of difficulty in her gymnastics, particularly on beam and floor. Moceanu trained under coaches Marta and Béla Károlyi, and later, Luminita Miscenco and Mary Lee Tracy. She earned her first National Team berth at the age of 10 and went on to represent the United States in various major international competitions at the junior level. She was the all- around silver medalist at the 1992 Junior Pan Am Games and the 1994 junior U.S. National Champion. In 1995, at the age of 13½, Moceanu became the youngest gymnast ever to win the senior all-around title at the U.S. National Championships. She was the youngest member of both the 1995 World Championships team and the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic squad, the Magnificent 7, and was popular with both the public and with gymnastics fans. Moceanu's last major success in gymnastics was the 1998 Goodwill Games, where she became the only American ever to win the all-around gold medal. Family issues, coaching changes and injuries derailed her efforts to participate in the Sydney Olympics, and she retired in 2000. Since retirement, Moceanu has continued to participate in gymnastics exhibitions, work as a coach, and pursue her post-secondary studies. She is currently married and a mother of two. Contents. Early career and the Magnificent Seven [ edit | edit source ] Moceanu was born on September 30, 1981 in Hollywood, Florida to parents Dumitru and Camelia. She has one sister, Christina. [1] Moceanu's parents, who had both been gymnasts in their native Romania, had early aspirations for her gymnastics career: while she was still a young toddler, they tested her strength by allowing her to hang from a clothesline. [2] Moceanu was raised Romanian Orthodox by her devout mother. Her faith figured prominently in her career as a gymnast. Whether it was psychological or not, Moceanu said, ". it defintely helped me as an athlete to have [rosaries and prayer booklets] in my bag and feel safe." [3] Moceanu began gymnastics classes in Illinois at the age of 3½ [1] and later trained at LaFleur's club in Florida. In 1991, at the age of 10, she moved to Houston, Texas, where she became one of the last gymnasts to be trained by the legendary Romanian coaches Marta and Béla Károlyi. [4] She began competing internationally at a young age, earning her first U.S. National Team berth in 1992. [2] At the age of 10½, in the spring of 1992, she earned five medals—gold in the team event, uneven bars, vault and floor exercise; silver in the all-around—at that year's Junior Pan Am Games. [1] [5] Under Károlyi's tutelage, Moceanu became the U.S. Junior National Champion in 1994. In 1995 she repeated her success as a senior, becoming the youngest gymnast ever to win the U.S. National Championships. She was also the youngest member of the American team at the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Japan. Moceanu did not disappoint, earning the highest American placement in the all-around competition and becoming the only American gymnast to win an individual medal, a silver on the balance beam. [4] Moceanu's national and international successes, combined with her plucky, bubbly attitude, earned her attention and a wide fan base both in and out of the gymnastics community. [2] In the months leading up to the Atlanta Olympics, she was one of the most recognizable faces of USA Gymnastics, eclipsing more decorated teammates such as Shannon Miller and Dominique Dawes. Before the Olympics, Moceanu was featured in Vanity Fair [6] and wrote an autobiography, Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion . The book was highly successful and ranked number seven on the New York Times' Best Sellers List. [7] Moceanu was expected by many to be a major medal threat at the 1996 Olympics. [2] [8] However, following the 1996 U.S. Nationals, where she placed third in the all-around, she was diagnosed with a four-centimeter stress fracture in her right tibia. [9] Her injury forced her to sit out the Olympic Trials, but she was petitioned onto the team on the strength of her Nationals scores. [8] [10] At the Olympics, still struggling with her injury and sporting a heavily bandaged leg, Moceanu contributed heavily to the team gold medal, turning in such strong performances that she qualified for the event finals on balance beam and floor exercise. However, she faltered in the last rotation of team finals, falling on both of her vaults. [11] She only advanced to the all-around finals as a replacement for injured teammate Kerri Strug. Small mistakes cost her a medal, but she still placed a respectable ninth. In the balance beam event final, Moceanu suffered a horrifying fall when she missed a foot on a layout and crashed into the balance beam on her head. She finished the exercise and went on to a strong performance in the floor finals later that day, finishing fourth and just missing a medal. [12] Post-Atlanta career [ edit | edit source ] Following the Atlanta Olympics, Moceanu participated in numerous events and professional gymnastics exhibitions, including a 100-city tour, before returning to competition. With the retirement of the Károlyis, she began training with other coaches at Moceanu Gymnastics, a gym constructed and run by her family. [4] Out of peak form, Moceanu placed ninth at the 1997 US Nationals. She participated in the 1997 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, leading a new and mostly inexperienced US team. She was elected team captain, and qualified for the all-around final, but the competition was not a positive experience for her. By 1998 however, Moceanu returned to top form. Under the tutelage of her new coach, Lumereanita Miscenco, she adjusted to a significant growth spurt and developed a clean, elegant style. She was selected for the American team at the 1998 Goodwill Games, where she became the only American to ever win the all-around title. In doing so, she defeated reigning World all-around champion Svetlana Khorkina, as well as the World silver and bronze medalists, Simona Amânar and Elena Produnova. She not only won the competition, she dominated the rest of the field. Outscoring the second place finisher and future 1999 World All Around Champion Maria Olaru by .687 points. Many consider this competition to be the highlight of Moceanu's career. [4] Training with Mary Lee Tracy at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy (CGA), Moceanu placed 8th at the 2000 U.S. Nationals. She qualified for the Olympic Trials, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury. [13] [14] In the fall of 2000, Moceanu participated in a post-Olympics national exhibition tour. [15] She also participated in one of the post-Athens Olympics gymnastics tours in 2006, the "Rock N' Roll Gymnastics Championships". [16] After a five-year hiatus from elite gymnastics, Moceanu announced a return to competition in 2005. However, injury kept her from competing in the 2005 Nationals. She remained committed to her comeback efforts, training on floor and vault. [4] In the summer of 2006, Moceanu was invited to attend the USA Gymnastics national training camp. She also competed at the 2006 US Classic, where she performed decently on vault, successfully executing a full twisting Tsukahara vault. On floor, she went out of bounds on her tucked full- in pass and fell on her double pike, posting one of the lowest FX scores of the meet. In a decision that proved to be somewhat controversial, Moceanu was not able to qualify to the 2006 U.S. National Championships. Moceanu stated that she had been informed that she would advance to Nationals by attending the National Training Camp and competing at least two events at the Classic. Despite meeting these requirements, she was not able to qualify to Nationals based on her Classic performances. Moceanu appealed this decision with USA Gymnastics, but the ruling was not overturned. [17] Personal life [ edit | edit source ] In late 1998, Moceanu left home and sued for legal emancipation from her parents in order to regain control of the money she had earned as a gymnastics professional. In the resulting court case and television interviews, Moceanu stated that her father had squandered her sizable earnings and had an abusive, controlling nature. The court approved her petition for emancipation and control of her finances. [6] [18] However, Moceanu did eventually reconcile with both of her parents. [4] Moceanu graduated in May 2009 with a business management degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. She also coaches part- time at Gymnastics World in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights and conducts clinics and private lessons around the country. [19] On November 4, 2006 in Houston, Texas, Moceanu married long-time boyfriend, podiatrist Dr. Michael Canales, a former Ohio State gymnast. On December 25, 2007, Moceanu gave birth to a daughter, Carmen Noel Canales. The couple's second child, a son named Vincent Michael Canales, was born on March 13, 2009. Dominique Moceanu. Dominique "Domi" Helena Moceanu (born September 30, 1981 in Hollywood, California) is an American gymnast of Romanian descent who was a member of the Olympic Gold medal winning 1996 U.S. Women's Gymnastics team in Atlanta (the "Magnificent Seven"). The hallmarks of Moceanu's gymnastics, in the early stage of her elite career, were daring tricks on balance beam and spunky, inspired presentations on the floor exercise. In the latter part of her elite career, under the direction of new coaches, she developed a more elegant, mature style. Although she was never considered to be an overwhelmingly innovative gymnast, she did display a high level of difficulty in her gymnastics, particularly on beam and floor. Moceanu trained under coaches Marta and Béla Károlyi, and later, Luminita Miscenco and Mary Lee Tracy. She earned her first National Team berth at the age of 10 and went on to represent the United States in various major international competitions at the junior level. She was the all- around silver medalist at the 1992 Junior Pan Am Games and the 1994 junior U.S. National Champion. In 1995, at the age of 13½, Moceanu became the youngest gymnast ever to win the senior all-around title at the U.S. National Championships. She was the youngest member of both the 1995 World Championships team and the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic squad, the Magnificent 7, and was popular with both the public and with gymnastics fans. Moceanu's last major success in gymnastics was the 1998 Goodwill Games, where she became the only American ever to win the all-around gold medal. Family issues, coaching changes and injuries derailed her efforts to participate in the Sydney Olympics, and she retired in 2000. Since retirement, Moceanu has continued to participate in gymnastics exhibitions, work as a coach, and pursue her post-secondary studies. She is currently married and a mother of two. Contents. Early career and the Magnificent Seven [ edit | edit source ] Moceanu was born on September 30, 1981 in Hollywood, Florida to parents Dumitru and Camelia. She has one sister, Christina. [1] Moceanu's parents, who had both been gymnasts in their native Romania, had early aspirations for her gymnastics career: while she was still a young toddler, they tested her strength by allowing her to hang from a clothesline. [2] Moceanu was raised Romanian Orthodox by her devout mother. Her faith figured prominently in her career as a gymnast. Whether it was psychological or not, Moceanu said, ". it defintely helped me as an athlete to have [rosaries and prayer booklets] in my bag and feel safe." [3] Moceanu began gymnastics classes in Illinois at the age of 3½ [1] and later trained at LaFleur's club in Florida. In 1991, at the age of 10, she moved to Houston, Texas, where she became one of the last gymnasts to be trained by the legendary Romanian coaches Marta and Béla Károlyi. [4] She began competing internationally at a young age, earning her first U.S. National Team berth in 1992. [2] At the age of 10½, in the spring of 1992, she earned five medals—gold in the team event, uneven bars, vault and floor exercise; silver in the all-around—at that year's Junior Pan Am Games. [1] [5] Under Károlyi's tutelage, Moceanu became the U.S. Junior National Champion in 1994. In 1995 she repeated her success as a senior, becoming the youngest gymnast ever to win the U.S. National Championships. She was also the youngest member of the American team at the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Japan. Moceanu did not disappoint, earning the highest American placement in the all-around competition and becoming the only American gymnast to win an individual medal, a silver on the balance beam. [4] Moceanu's national and international successes, combined with her plucky, bubbly attitude, earned her attention and a wide fan base both in and out of the gymnastics community. [2] In the months leading up to the Atlanta Olympics, she was one of the most recognizable faces of USA Gymnastics, eclipsing more decorated teammates such as Shannon Miller and Dominique Dawes. Before the Olympics, Moceanu was featured in Vanity Fair [6] and wrote an autobiography, Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion . The book was highly successful and ranked number seven on the New York Times' Best Sellers List. [7] Moceanu was expected by many to be a major medal threat at the 1996 Olympics. [2] [8] However, following the 1996 U.S. Nationals, where she placed third in the all-around, she was diagnosed with a four-centimeter stress fracture in her right tibia. [9] Her injury forced her to sit out the Olympic Trials, but she was petitioned onto the team on the strength of her Nationals scores. [8] [10] At the Olympics, still struggling with her injury and sporting a heavily bandaged leg, Moceanu contributed heavily to the team gold medal, turning in such strong performances that she qualified for the event finals on balance beam and floor exercise. However, she faltered in the last rotation of team finals, falling on both of her vaults. [11] She only advanced to the all-around finals as a replacement for injured teammate Kerri Strug. Small mistakes cost her a medal, but she still placed a respectable ninth. In the balance beam event final, Moceanu suffered a horrifying fall when she missed a foot on a layout and crashed into the balance beam on her head. She finished the exercise and went on to a strong performance in the floor finals later that day, finishing fourth and just missing a medal. [12] Post-Atlanta career [ edit | edit source ] Following the Atlanta Olympics, Moceanu participated in numerous events and professional gymnastics exhibitions, including a 100-city tour, before returning to competition. With the retirement of the Károlyis, she began training with other coaches at Moceanu Gymnastics, a gym constructed and run by her family. [4] Out of peak form, Moceanu placed ninth at the 1997 US Nationals. She participated in the 1997 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, leading a new and mostly inexperienced US team. She was elected team captain, and qualified for the all-around final, but the competition was not a positive experience for her. By 1998 however, Moceanu returned to top form. Under the tutelage of her new coach, Lumereanita Miscenco, she adjusted to a significant growth spurt and developed a clean, elegant style. She was selected for the American team at the 1998 Goodwill Games, where she became the only American to ever win the all-around title. In doing so, she defeated reigning World all-around champion Svetlana Khorkina, as well as the World silver and bronze medalists, Simona Amânar and Elena Produnova. She not only won the competition, she dominated the rest of the field. Outscoring the second place finisher and future 1999 World All Around Champion Maria Olaru by .687 points. Many consider this competition to be the highlight of Moceanu's career. [4] Training with Mary Lee Tracy at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy (CGA), Moceanu placed 8th at the 2000 U.S. Nationals. She qualified for the Olympic Trials, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury. [13] [14] In the fall of 2000, Moceanu participated in a post-Olympics national exhibition tour. [15] She also participated in one of the post-Athens Olympics gymnastics tours in 2006, the "Rock N' Roll Gymnastics Championships". [16] After a five-year hiatus from elite gymnastics, Moceanu announced a return to competition in 2005. However, injury kept her from competing in the 2005 Nationals. She remained committed to her comeback efforts, training on floor and vault. [4] In the summer of 2006, Moceanu was invited to attend the USA Gymnastics national training camp. She also competed at the 2006 US Classic, where she performed decently on vault, successfully executing a full twisting Tsukahara vault. On floor, she went out of bounds on her tucked full- in pass and fell on her double pike, posting one of the lowest FX scores of the meet. In a decision that proved to be somewhat controversial, Moceanu was not able to qualify to the 2006 U.S. National Championships. Moceanu stated that she had been informed that she would advance to Nationals by attending the National Training Camp and competing at least two events at the Classic. Despite meeting these requirements, she was not able to qualify to Nationals based on her Classic performances. Moceanu appealed this decision with USA Gymnastics, but the ruling was not overturned. [17] Personal life [ edit | edit source ] In late 1998, Moceanu left home and sued for legal emancipation from her parents in order to regain control of the money she had earned as a gymnastics professional. In the resulting court case and television interviews, Moceanu stated that her father had squandered her sizable earnings and had an abusive, controlling nature. The court approved her petition for emancipation and control of her finances. [6] [18] However, Moceanu did eventually reconcile with both of her parents. [4] Moceanu graduated in May 2009 with a business management degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. She also coaches part- time at Gymnastics World in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights and conducts clinics and private lessons around the country. [19] On November 4, 2006 in Houston, Texas, Moceanu married long-time boyfriend, podiatrist Dr. Michael Canales, a former Ohio State gymnast. On December 25, 2007, Moceanu gave birth to a daughter, Carmen Noel Canales. The couple's second child, a son named Vincent Michael Canales, was born on March 13, 2009.