Dominique MOCEANU

Dominique Helena MOCEANU

United States (USA)

Date of birth	30 September 1981		Hometown	Houston
Place of birth	Hollywood		Profession
Height	160	cm	Children	Carmen Noel (2007) Vincent Michael (2009)
Weight		kg	Start gymnastics	1984
Gender	Female		Club	Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy
Nickname	Dom, Domi		Head coach	(Béla Károlyi) Mary Lee Tracy
Spouse name	Dr. Michael Canales		Favourite apparatus	Floor, beam

World class in

1995

First competition

1992

Last competition

2000

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.

COMPETITION NOTES AND HONORS

Moceanu was the youngest member (14) of the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic Team and finished ninth in the all-around competition. With the new minimum age rules, she is assured of retaining the record for being the youngest U.S. gymnast ever to win an Olympic gold medal. When she and her teammates appeared on the Wheaties cereal box, she became the youngest athlete ever to receive the honor. While she was the youngest member of the 1997 World Championships Team, she had the broadest range of international experience among the USA women. She earned the only USA individual medal (silver on beam) at the 1995 World Championships and had the highest USA all-around finish. She vaulted from Junior National Champion in 1994 to Senior National Champion in 1995, becoming the youngest Senior National Champion in history (age 13). At age 10, she was the youngest athlete to ever to qualify to the U.S. Junior National Team. Her first international all-around title came at the 1995 Visa Challenge. She was USOC SportsWoman of the Month for April and September '95. A nominee for the 1995 Sullivan Award, honoring the USA's top amateur athlete, she received the McDonald's 1996 Break Through To Be Your Best Award.

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 Dominique's ability to rebound from the disappointment of not winning an individual medal in Atlanta. However, most did not credit that she was only 14 at the 1996 Olympics, and that her Olympic experience came relatively early in her career. Moceanu credits Miscenco for putting her back on track and for helping her adjust to her new frame after she grew seven inches in height and gained 18 pounds in 1997. As Dominique continued to develop physically and mentally under the guidance of Miscenco, her confidence was restored and her eagerness to regain respect by proving herself as an individual escalated. Leading up to the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, there was a great deal of pressure on Dominique to perform well. Embracing the challenge with determination and maturity, Dominique proved to the world that her will to succeed indeed overcome her adversity. She triumphantly captured the all-around title at the Goodwill Games. The gold medal reestablished Dominique's position among the world's elite. In the fall of 1998, Dominique encountered a very emotional and personal family struggle causing an explicable conflict with her training. Even with her name plastered across newspapers and magazines nationally, her privacy invaded, and her training interrupted, Dominique maintained a profound poise and maturity. Having missed a few months of training and competitions, some doubt has arisen surrounding Dominique's ability to rebound. However, enduring both tragedy and triumph, Dominique's unique and undying spirit as well as her love of the sport continued to flourish. In a determined comeback and spirited return to the sport of gymnastics, Dominique moved to Cincinnatti, Ohio in January of 2000 to resume training under the guidance and support of 1996 Assistant Olympic coach Mary Lee Tracy. Advancing from the U.S. Classic, through to the National Championships, and on to the Olympic Trials, Dominique was well on track to realizing her Olympic dream for the second time. Unfortunately, her planned return to the Olympic stage was cut short when she was forced to withdraw from the 2000 Olympic trials with a knee injury. Although Dominique's return to the Olympics was cut short, she proved to herself and the whole world that after all that she had been through, she still wore the heart of a champion. Leaving an indelible mark on the gymnastics world, Dominique continues to participate in professional tours, coach at summer gymnastics camps, and inspire young athletes everywhere. A gymnast by birth, turned champion by heart, Dominique Moceanu is the embodiment of a true Olympian.

BY: Gold Medal Managment

Year	Competition	Team	AA
1992	Junior National Champs Jr. Pan American Games	- 1	5 2	- 1	- 1	2 -	- 1
1993	Junior National Champs Intl Tourn. Jr.Women's Gymn, Charleroi	- 1	7 5	- -	- 3	- 1	- -
1994	Junior National Champs	-	1	1	3	3	1
1995	National Championships Reese's Intern. Gymn. Cup American Classic Visa Challenge World Team Trials 31. World Championships	- - - 1 - 3	1 - - 1 1 5	- - 1 3 - -	- 1 - 2 - -	- 3 - 3 - 2	- 4 - 1 - 7
1996	26. Olympic Games	1	9	-	-	6	4
1997	33. World Championships Reese's Intl. Gymn. Cup, Anaheim Intl Team Champs (USA, CHN, ROM)	6 - 2	14 3 -	- - -	- - -	- - -	- - -
1998	Goodwill Games	-	1	-	-	-	-

National Competition

2000 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Chamionships, St. Louis; 8th-AA
2000 U.S. Classic, Tulsa, Okla.; 6th-AA
1998 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Indianapolis; 3rd-AA, 1st-V, 19th-UB, 1st-BB, 3rd-FX
1997 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Denver, Colo.; 9th-AA, T12th-V, 23rd-UB, 17th-BB, 2nd-FX
1996 U.S. Olympic Trials-Gymnastics, Boston, Mass.; 2nd-AA (did not compete; scores carried from 1996 Coca-Cola National Championships)
1996 Coca-Cola National Championships, Knoxville, Tenn.; 3rd-AA
1995 World Team Trials, Austin, Texas; 1st-AA
1995 Coca-Cola National Championships, New Orleans, La.; 1st-AA, 2nd-FX, 3rd-V, 5th-BB, 6th-UB
1995 American Classic/Pan American Games Trials, Oakland, Calif.; T2nd-AA, 1st-V, 9th-UB, 3rd-BB, 3rd-FX
1994 Coca-Cola National Championships, Nashville, Tenn.; 1st-AA and V, T1st-FX, 3rd-UB & BB (jr. div.)
1994 American Classic/World Championships Trials, Orlando, Fla.; 4th-AA (jr. div.)
1993 Coca-Cola National Championships, Salt Lake City, Utah; T7th-AA (jr. div.)
1993 U.S. Classic, Austin, Texas; 8th-AA (jr. div.)
1993 U.S. Olympic Festival, San Antonio, Texas; 12th-AA, 4th-FX
1993 American Classic, Murray, Utah; T10th-AA, 5th-FX, 7th-V, 15th-UB, 16th-BB (jr. div.)
1992 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Columbus, Ohio; 5th-AA, 2nd-BB (jr. div.)
1992 U.S. Classic, Knoxville, Tenn.; 10th-AA, 4th-BB (jr. div.)
1991 U.S. Classic, Salt Lake City, Utah; 7th-AA, 1st-BB, 5th-UB (jr. div.)