Dominique Moceanu - Early Career and The Magnificent Seven

Early Career and The Magnificent Seven

Moceanu was born on September 30, 1981 in Hollywood to Romanian parents Dumitru (1954–2008), and Camelia Staicu (b. 1961). She also has two younger sisters, Jennifer (given up for adoption at birth and raised Jennifer Bricker), born October 1, 1987, and Christina, born on August 24, 1989. Her 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. Moceanu was raised Romanian Orthodox by her devout mother. Her faith figured prominently in her career as a gymnast. She said, "...it definitely helped me as an athlete to have in my bag and feel safe."

Moceanu began gymnastics classes in Illinois at the age of 3½ 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. She began competing internationally at a young age, earning her first U.S. National Team berth in 1992. At the age of 10½, in spring 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.

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. She 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.

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. 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, she was featured in Vanity Fair 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.

Moceanu was expected to be a major medal threat at the 1996 Olympics. However, following the 1996 U.S. Nationals, where she placed third in the all-around, she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her right tibia. Her injury forced her to sit out the Olympic Trials, and she was petitioned onto the team on the strength of her Nationals scores.

At the Olympics, still struggling with her injury and sporting a heavily bandaged leg, Moceanu contributed to the team gold medal, turning in strong performances and 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 vaults, a situation which directly resulted in the U.S. chance of a gold medal resting solely on teammate Kerri Strug's final vault. Strug injured herself in the successful attempt, and Moceanu only advanced to the all-around finals as her replacement. Mistakes cost Moceanu a medal, and she placed ninth. In the balance beam event final, Moceanu fell 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.