Dominique Moceanu has gymnastics in her genes. Her parents, both gymnasts themselves, started training their daughter at age three. By the time Moceanu turned ten years old, she was training with the legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi, whose former students include Olympic champions Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton. Moceanu earned the title of best U.S. gymnast when she won the all-around championship at the 1995 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. She followed up that success by helping the "Magnificent Seven" American women's gymnastics team win the team gold medal a the 1998 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Growing up

Gymnastic genes

Dominique Moceanu (Mo-che-ah-new) was born September 30, 1981, in Hollywood, California. She grew up in Florida with her parents and sister. Both of Moceanu's parents are from Romania and both were gymnasts. Her father, Dumitru, defected to the United States from the Communist country of Romania in 1979, and her mother...