Dominique Moceanu
Dominique Moceanu
Dominique Helena Moceanu is a retired Romanian American gymnast. She was a member of the gold-medal-winning United States women's gymnastics teamat the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGymnast
Date of Birth30 September 1981
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
running gymnastics years
My parents enrolled me in a gymnastics class when I was three years old, and I just was drawn to gymnastics. I loved it. It was my playground, and I could run around and be free there.
teaching athlete healthy
We need to educate our elite coaches more and have a better approach to teaching the athletes about how to be healthy rather than berate them, humiliate them, use tactics that could scar them for life.
years parent gold
In my very first interview, at nine years old, I said I wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist. That was the first time I said it out loud in front of somebody other than my parents.
christian mother taught
Since my mother is an extremely devoted Christian Orthodox woman, she prayed a great deal and taught me how to pray.
years found
I was 26 years old when I found out that I had a sister who I never knew existed,
believe gymnastics opportunity
It's human nature to be timid in the face of obstacles, but I have learned to believe that challenges are opportunities for genius to shine. In order to feel alive, we have to accomplish things that we once believed we could not.
deal method people self-esteem success
I don't think ethical people deal with intimidation as a method to achieve success. Undermining someone's self-esteem isn't a method to achieve success.
forgive happier heal healthier life move order people sake
In the end, you have to forgive in order to heal and move forward with your life. For people who hurt you very deeply, you don't have to forgive them for their sake but for your sake, so that you can move forward and have a healthier and happier life.
anatomy coaches educated elite health level physiology works
Some coaches are not educated at the elite level in health and nutrition. They're not educated in how the body works from anatomy and physiology perspectives.
chose
Gymnastics was my calling. I think it chose me in a lot of ways.
among came child dream escaping giving gymnastics life popular regime sports states united
In Romania, of course, gymnastics is among the most popular sports, and my parents had a dream of escaping the Ceausescu regime and giving their child a better life. So they came to the United States and put me in gymnastics.
adoption existed given knew secret sibling
I have a secret sibling that I never knew existed and who was given up for adoption at birth by my parents, and she was born without legs.
barely create father holiday recall scene single walking
I can barely recall a single holiday when my father didn't make a scene or create some kind of chaos. We were always walking on eggshells.
hard last left life natural opportunity penny provide spent struggled talent worked
My parents, Romanian immigrants, struggled to provide me a better life than the ones they had left in their homeland. They worked hard to give me every opportunity in life, and once I showed natural talent as a young gymnast, they spent every last penny on my training.