KAROLYI NOT OPTIMISTIC (CONTRA COSTA TIMES)
By Ann Tatko-Peterson
The comeback story will have to wait a little longer.
Dominique Moceanu, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, had hoped to return to gymnastics competition this past weekend at the age of 23 and after a five-year hiatus. But an Achilles' injury forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Classic in Virginia Beach, Va.
Moceanu called it a temporary delay in her comeback bid.
Her former coach, and a legend in the sport, seemed to undermine that bid even before this setback.
"There are many who want to do the same thing," Bela Karolyi told the USA Today last week. "But very few have succeeded. I have to be honest; I don't even recall any strong comebacks. I always applaud it, though."
Karolyi must set very high standards when it comes to defining a strong comeback.
He had a firsthand glimpse of two such returns just last summer when his wife, Martha, oversaw the 2004 U.S. women's Olympic team.
Then 25-year-old Mohini Bhardwaj and 26-year-old Annia Hatch had defied the notion that only teenagers could succeed in women's gymnastics. They helped the Americans secure silver in the team competition.
Then as an encore, Hatch won silver in the individual vault competition.
Not bad considering she was the oldest U.S. female Olympic gymnast since Doris Fuchs Brause, 32, in 1964.
Granted, the biggest American name at the 2004 Olympics did belong to a teenager, 16-year-old Carly Patterson.
Of note, according to USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny, Patterson hasn't ruled out a possible return for the 2008 Summer Games. By then, she will no longer be a teenager.
"It's not unthinkable that one or two Olympians from 2004 may be in the mix," Penny said during a teleconference last week. "Event specialists are becoming more and more important. That allows athletes to extend their careers."
In Karolyi's defense, the height of his coaching career came at a time when teenagers dominated the sport. In 1976, he coached 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci when she scored perfect 10s at the Montreal Olympics.
Since then, only a handful of gymnasts who are 20 or older have attempted to prolong their careers. Kathy Johnson did it at 24, winning silver for the U.S. team and bronze on the balance beam at the 1984 Olympics. Former Olympian Kim Zmeskal did it at 21 when she qualified for the 1998 women's U.S. team.
Gymnastics' international federation has inadvertently helped, too, by implementing a rule that a gymnast must be at least 16 to compete at the Olympics.
"More gymnasts are starting to realize that although there are limitations, opportunities still exist after college," Hatch said. "As older gymnasts experience success, I think you will see even more attempting comebacks."
ELITE GYMNASTS COMPETE IN VIRGINIA BEACH (THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT)
By MATT MIDDLETON
VIRGINIA BEACH — As president of Excalibur Gymnastics, Jim Walker spends his days watching high-level gymnasts leap, flip and tumble in a dizzying gravitational experience.
This weekend, the rest of the area can join him.
For the second time in four years, Virginia Beach will host the U.S. Classic, a national competition that is the last chance for gymnasts to qualify for the Visa National Championships, which determine the team that represents the country in international competitions. The U.S. Classic, sandwiched around two days of pre-elite competitions, begins Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Pavilion.
“It’s a nice tune-up,” said Walker, whose 7-year-old facility off Newtown Road trains 700 gymnasts a week. “It’s the first meet of the year that nearly everyone in the country will attend. You can see the quality.”
Maybe even recognize a few names. Dominique Moceanu , 1996 Olympic gold medalist, was scheduled to compete but withdrew with an Achilles’ injury earlier in the week. She will, however, still attend the event.
Making up for her lost star power are Chellsie Memmel, the 2003 world uneven bars co-champion; 2004 U.S. junior champion Nastia Liukin; and Alicia Sacramone, a double medalist at February’s American Cup.
Three other national team members will join four strong locals, all of whom train under Walker and his wife, Dena, at Excalibur. The locals — Marcia Newby and Casey Overton in the senior division; Morgan Evans and Randy Stageberg in the junior division — all have current or former national team experience.
Evans, 14, has her sights set on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and promises not to be star-gazing on Saturday. She’s already qualified for the national championships, which are Aug. 10-13 in Indianapolis.
“It feels just like a regular meet,” Evans said.
Newby, who will be a Kempsville senior in the fall, says the small stuff is what counts in gymnastics, and that’s what she wants to focus on this weekend. She finished ninth in the 2003 national championships and is not yet qualified for this year’s version, although her coaches have submitted a petition to USA Gymnastics in light of recurring injuries.
A broken toe kept her out of last year’s nationals, perils Overton and Stageberg are now experiencing.
Overton, 17 and a member of the 2003 and 2004 national teams, is fighting a right shoulder injury and will only compete on the balance beam. Stageberg, 14, was all ready for the meet two weeks ago until she began experiencing back pain. Tests indicated that she had a vertebra out of line, so she will be a meet-time decision. She is already qualified for the championships.
ACHILLES INJURY TO KEEP MOCEANU AWAY FROM INDIANAPOLIS (INDIANAPOLIS STAR)
Achilles injury to keep Moceanu away from IndianapolisThe gymnastics comeback of Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu has been delayed by a familiar opponent -- injury.
She announced Tuesday night that she is withdrawing from Saturday's U.S. Classic at Virginia Beach, Va., because of an Achilles' injury. The Classic is a qualifying meet for the national championships at Indianapolis.
It was to be the first competition for Moceanu, 23, since 2000.
"The injury is not severe," she said in a statement. "However, since I am most concerned with longevity over the next several years of my gymnastics career, I do believe it is in my best interest to withdraw from the Classic, seek treatment and remain patient to ensure proper healing and a strong showing in 2006."
Moceanu was supposedly near the end of her career during the 1998 national championships at Market Square Arena.
Seven years later -- virtually an eternity in the sport -- she was trying to return for another nationals. The Visa Championships will be Aug. 10-13 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Moceanu, then 14, won a gold medal as part of the U.S. team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
At 5-3 and 125 pounds, she is 45 pounds heavier and nearly a foot taller than she was in 1996.
CHATTING WITH DOMINIQUE MOCEANU (INTERNATIONAL GYMNAST)
Retired for five years, 1996 Olympic team gold medalist Dominique Moceanu planned to take the first step of her competitive comeback at the U.S. Classic (July 22-25). Tendinosis in her Achilles has forced the 23-year-old Moceanu to bypass this meet, a decision she says she made to improve her long-term chances for 2006 and beyond. Born in California to Romanian parents on September 30, 1981, Moceanu began training under Romanian-born coach Bela Karolyi in 1991. She won the U.S. junior all-around title in 1994, and in 1995 became the youngest senior national champion in U.S. history.
At the 1995 World Championships, held in Sabae, Japan, Moceanu was the top American all-around finisher in fifth place. She also tied for the silver medal on balance beam, won a team bronze medal, and tied for seventh place on floor exercise.
Moceanu won a team gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Games, where she finished ninth all-around, fourth on floor exercise and sixth on balance beam.
Following Karolyi's retirement in 1996, Moceanu moved several times and trained with multiple coaches, including Artur Akopyan, Mihai Brestyan, and Luminita Miscenco. She placed 14th all-around at the 1997 World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland; and first all-around at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York.
Shortly after winning the Goodwill Games, Moceanu endured a painful public chapter in her life when she legally separated from her parents. A judge granted the 17-year-old Moceanu's request to be an emancipated minor, allowing her to live independently and control her own finances. (Moceanu and her family later reconciled, and today she enjoys a close relationship with her mother, father, and younger sister.)
Moceanu relocated to Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy (under coach Mary Lee Tracy) in early 2000, but her attempt to make the U.S. Olympic team that year ended with a knee injury.
Moceanu has remained busy as a student, motivational speaker and gymnastics coach. She also stays in touch with her fans through frequent updates to her website, dominique-moceanu.com. She recently announced her engagement to surgical resident Mike Canales, a former gymnast who now coaches her. Moceanu is currently training at Woodward Gymnastics in central Pennsylvania. In this IG Online exclusive interview, Moceanu details her motivation and plans for coming back.
IG: As you yourself have experienced, gymnasts often train and compete despite being injured. Is it simply something all elite athletes must deal with, or should coaches reevaluate this practice? Have your thoughts on this changed now that you are older?
DM: Without a doubt my thoughts have changed on this topic through my experiences from the Karolyis all the way through to Mike! I have trained at all levels of intensity, emotionally and physically. I have a lot of respect for the value of repetition training. I gained that methodology from the Karolyis. They helped shape my consistency, because I did so many routines. Like Nadia has said, "I didn't smile on the beam or bars, because it was my job, and it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for me." I shared that sentiment with Nadia, and I had no doubt that I would be prepared for competition. That method of training was beneficial at that stage of my physical and mental development.
When you move forward to my present-day training, the intensity hasn't decreased, but the emotional intensity is a bigger part of the equation. Mike's a strong motivator, and he can get me to perform "that spectacular routine" rather than six average routines, all the while I've saved my body mileage. If I attempted to train like I had between 1992 and 1996, this comeback would have come to a screeching halt seven months ago. I'm working smarter, not harder, and I'm certain that Oksana Chusovitina and her [longtime] coach Svetlana Kuznetsova know the meaning of this better than anyone!
Mike has a solid understanding of how the body works, and he communicates problems clearly to me, so today I understand what is truly hurting. That communication has really helped my training, because we value rest just as much as we value hard work in the gym. At this stage in my career, this is the only way I can train, and I am fortunate to have a coach who encourages this method.
I suppose my bottom line is that training needs to be carefully tailored to athletes based upon several factors. Coaches need to listen to their athletes and consult the appropriate medical attention when injuries do not improve. A lot of gymnasts will be saved from premature/forced retirement, additional injuries, and loss of confidence under this pract. I'veice seen several coach/athlete relationships blossom from this practice, and while I don't have all of the answers, I hope to demonstrate that a coach who communicates openly with the athlete regarding injury can yield very positive results when suitable medical attention is sought out.
The tide will have to shift. Can you imagine a female having to do ten Yurchenko double backs in practice or in podium training? I don't want to imagine that. Gymnastics is changing, and I am experiencing the changes first-hand. Consequently, training techniques need to change, too!
IG: Who was the first person you told that you were definitely coming back to competition, and what was the reaction?
DM:Mike was the first person I told. The two of us bounced the idea around following the Rock 'N' Roll gymnastics tour, and we certainly took a team approach to the decision. The final decision was made in November (2004), and back then we originally planned to prepare for the 2006 season.
How did Mike react? He smiled and raised his eyebrows, and I'll never forget what he said. He told me, "The true test of your comeback will come during daily training when your motivation can get low, but I'm really confident in you, and this comeback will speak volumes about your character. Let's have some fun!" I actually have those words written out and posted at my desk.
Next we put our heads together and started setting bi-weekly goals, and chose to keep the comeback under wraps until we believed that I could realistically compete at the Elite level again. When we were convinced that I was physically ready, we informed (U.S. national team coordinator) Marta (Karolyi) of the decision. Next, (U.S. women's senior program director) Kathy Kelly, and then we let our parents know. After that we "let the cat out of the bag" on my website!
IG: How much contact have you had with, or advice from, your former coaches?
DM: I've spoken to them. Marta has been optimistic about my return, and she's provided me with a lot of general insight. She's reminded me to know my competition well and to train hard.
Mary Lee has just been really excited for me, and happy to see where I am in my life. She's seen me move through so many phases of development. She's most excited about the engagement, though!
IG: How many people have you consulted about updating your routines for the new Code of Points?
DM: As far as the new Code goes, Mike handles most of that stuff, and he's making a blueprint of four or five big skills he thinks I can learn. We haven't consulted anyone about the new Code, because we want to gather all of the information first, get the basics down, and then start to see how individuals interpret it, nationally and internationally. We are in no rush to figure it out. If we're fortunate enough to get an invitation to a national team camp, we will start to see what other coaches and judges are saying. I really believe the frequent national team camps will help facilitate knowledge about the new rules.
IG: Have you had any advice from judges?
DM: Yes. The judges that I've seen here at Woodward and at various appearances have been anxious to help me. In 2005, it seems as if requirements for credit have become even stricter, and the judges have really allowed me to appreciate that.
IG: You have had surgeries on your knee and shoulder. Are you fully recovered from these injuries?
DM: No problems with either of those injuries. I guess they needed about five years away from competition to heal, and now they feel as good as new, but I had officially hung up my bar grips in 2000.
IG: Are you limited in any way by the injuries?
DM: Not a bit, but I've encountered a few stumbling blocks since November. In December I had a severe left ankle sprain that Mike treated and is now 100%, but now I have a nagging (injury) in my right Achilles, and Mike and his residency team have a detailed plan of treatment, which is great! It's not severe, and it's my only complaint, because there is something wrong with a gymnast with nothing creaking!
IG: The U.S. team has or has recently had some strong vaulters and tumblers. What do you think you will have to do to show that you can compete as well as or better than they?
DM: I have to do the vaults and floor routines that Mike and I have set out for me to do. Execution is a priority. What do I have to do to compete with the current girls? The formula is simple: do as high a Start Value as possible with less than 2.5 tenths off! It's easier said than done, but if I stick to that game plan, I'm confident that I can be competitive with the U.S. national team members. I think that my vaults have more post-flight than they did in the past, and I think that I have a better understanding of how to stick landings.
IG: How much of your old routines can you still perform? What new tricks are you planning or are already doing?
DM:I can do all of my tumbling passes from my Atlanta floor routine, and I can still do a Yurchenko one-and-a-half twist vault, so I guess I can do all of my skills from 1996. I can still do my front handspring layout-half vault, so I'm focused on more difficult elements, but not at the price of poor form.
On floor I'm really focused on my execution, but as far as skills go, Mike is working with me on a double-twisting double back tucked. We are figuring out what looks better "on me"—double full-in versus full-in, full-out. We are working both of them.
On vault, I've landed stretched Rudis on standard matting in the gym, and that is my most solid vault now. I'm working several vaults from various approaches, though, and whatever comes out of Mike's brain, I'm willing to try.
IG: How are you managing to separate your relationship with Mike the coach, and Mike your fiance?
DM: I guess we don't really separate our relationship at all, and I hope that doesn't sound bad. The whole comeback has enriched our relationship and it has been so fun. It really has. We met through gymnastics in 1994 and we are staying involved with gymnastics 11 years later. We both have so much going on, and gymnastics is a great meeting point for us to enjoy each other. It's exciting! We both enjoy watching gymnastics tapes from the '80s to the early '90s, and continue to do so as much as we can. It is part of our learning approach. This "era" of gymnastics was so beautiful, and there is much we can learn from it.
Mike was really busy before the comeback, and continues to wear "a lot of hats," and he never really takes them off. But he has the unique ability to concentrate on each responsibility all day long without sacrificing any of them. I don't know if it makes sense, but I don't think he knows how it works, either.
His mind is racing at all times, whether he's concentrating on patients in the hospital or my jump combos on floor. For example, we will be eating dinner and he will just blurt out, "A double front-half on floor will be great, but only if you do it with your knees together!" and then he will just go on eating and asking me how my test went. It's really funny to see. The bizarre thing is that he had this behavior before he began coaching me, so there really hasn't been much of an adjustment. He knows me so well both inside the gym and outside of the gym, so we communicate well, and that spills over from life to coaching and vice versa.
IG: What do you think your greatest challenge for this comeback will be: proving yourself to the national team coaches; the actual physical preparation; psychologically getting back into training and competing; or perhaps something else?
DM: The two biggest challenges will be to remain patient and to continue to make smart choices. Patience has been one of our themes from the start, and it has benefited me already, but it's so tough, because your heart and head are not always working together. When I remain patient and make the right choices, proving myself to the Athlete Selection Committee, physical preparation, training, and competing will fall into place. I believe in that.
IG: Anything else you'd like to add?
DM: I want to thank all of the individuals that have supported me throughout my career and especially now, because they are "coming back to competition" alongside me! From my loyal fans, my family, my fiance's family, Woodward Gymnastics, to Lilia Popkopayeva, Rustam Sharipov, my webmaster Lisa Patterson, Sallie Weaver, and Thermal Aid. I thank everyone for their support, and I hope to make all of you proud!
MOCEANU VAULTS BACK AFTER FIVE-YEAR BREAK (USA TODAY)
By Jennifer Kushlis, USA TODAY
Gymnast Dominique Moceanu knows all about breaking ground. At 14 she became the youngest American gymnast to win gold.
Dominique Moceanu will return to competition for the first time in nearly five years at the U.S. Classic in Virginia Beach.
Saturday, at 23, she will try to prove she hasn't aged too far beyond the straight-banged, big-smiled image on the Wheaties box — though 45 pounds heavier and nearly a foot taller.
The appearance of Moceanu, 5-3 and 125 pounds, in the U.S. Classic in Virginia Beach will end her nearly five-year hiatus from elite competition. Moceanu, who retired after a knee injury forced her out of the 2000 Olympic trials, knows age is an issue and will use it to her advantage.
"I'm older, but I know I'm still capable," Moceanu says. "I think we've all seen I can do it."
Moceanu says she never outgrew the thrill of performing. She returned from the 2004 Athens Games, where she served as an athlete ambassador for Sports Illustrated, keen on a comeback. Her reputation was on the line, Moceanu says, so she told only her family and now fiancé, Michael Canales.
"Every waking moment I'm not at the hospital, I'm helping Dominique get where she wants to be," says Canales, a former Ohio State University gymnast who trains her between shifts at his surgical residency. "I stress over keeping her healthy and happy, but it's a good kind of stress."
Canales tended to Moceanu's most recent injury in a series of injuries that plagued her career — a sprained left ankle on Christmas Eve. Her gymnastics pursuits also were stalled by a 1998 dispute with her parents over finances. Now Moceanu says she has grown to appreciate her family and the sacrifices they made for her career.
"This comeback has been a long process," Moceanu says. "We've planned 2006 as my big year."
She first captured glory in 1996 at the Atlanta Games as a member of the "Magnificent Seven" — the first and only U.S. women's gymnastics team to win team gold.
"There are many who want to do the same thing," says Bela Karolyi, her former personal coach who now runs camps in Huntsville, Texas. "But very few have succeeded. I have to be honest; I don't even recall any strong comebacks. I always applaud it, though."
Moceanu enters the national qualifier in shape and with features that give her better power and lines, she says.
She and Canales do a three- to four-hour workout each night. Canales says his program is a welcome change from Karolyi's eight-hour a day schedule.
"At this stage, her body can't withstand it," Canales says. "As soon as gymnastics aren't fun for her, we'll quit."
Moceanu, who plans to compete in the vault and floor exercise this weekend, must finish in the top 14 to earn a trip to the Visa Championships next month. Also competing will be 17-year-olds Chellsie Memmel, an Olympic alternate in 2004, and Alicia Sacramone, who took gold in vault in the 2005 American Cup.
"When you're young and you eat, sleep and breathe gymnastics, a bad meet seems like the end of the world," Moceanu says. "Now I have many more things than gymnastics."
She balances training with a full business course load at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, the responsibilities of homeownership and wedding plans.
But gymnastics has always had a place in her life.
Moceanu coaches part time at Gymnastics World in Cleveland and still runs in circles with elite gymnasts — Morgan and Paul Hamm, members of the 2004 Athens silver medalist men's team who witnessed Canales' July 2 marriage proposal.
Canales says the couple daydreams about a 2008 Olympic bid, but getting Canales through his second year of residency and helping Moceanu qualify for the 2006 worlds dominate their life.
"My family sometimes forgets I still do gymnastics," Moceanu says.
GYMNASTS FLIPPED FOR EACH OTHER (CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER)
Chuck Yarborough
Plain Dealer Columnist
I used to play golf with an ex-gymnast friend. Gerald Ewing could walk under a desktop and not bump his head, but he was also one of the strongest buggers I ever met. That’s a trait necessarily common among gymnasts.
Given that, I might normally worry about the new fiance of our own Dominique Moceanu, the ’96 Olympic gold medalist. But I won’t spend a lot of skull sweat fretting over Michael Canales’ safety. First off, the guy who popped the question over the holiday weekend in Pepper Pike is a gymnast himself, having once toiled for Ohio State University. Second, he’s coaching Moceanu for the July 21-22 U.S. Classic in Virginia Beach, Va., her first “elite” competition in five years, and any athlete knows “Coach” is never wrong. And finally, Canales has an edge because he’s a DOCTOR. He just finished his first-year surgical residency at St. Vincent Charity Hospital here. No date has been set for the wedding, but I do have piece of advice for him: Don’t leave her at the vaulter.
