Word: camelia
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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That lesson has been drummed into Moceanu by her parents. While still sweethearts in Romania, Dimitry and Camelia Moceanu resolved to defect to the West. In 1980 Dimitry secured a tourist visa and fled to Austria, leaving behind a secure job as a manager of Romania's duty-free shops. When Camelia followed eight months later, they reunited in Greece, staying long enough to marry and conceive Dominique, then crossed the Atlantic. Over the next 10 years, Dimitry's assorted jobs took the family from California to Illinois to Florida...
...seen his dreams destroyed when a teacher called his mother and firmly suggested that Dimitry must choose: gymnastics or school. Forced to abandon the sport he loved, Dimitry says, "I made myself a commitment that I'd like my first child to be a gymnast." While courting Camelia, he shared his plan. "I said, 'It'll be a big commitment. It's gotta be a different country. But we have no money, so we may just drink water and eat bread.'" And Camelia, who had competed in gymnastics at a less rarefied level, agreed...
When she feels the need, she turns to Camelia, who definitely deserves gold honors as all-around mom. Camelia prepares Dominique's nutritionally balanced meals, massages her aches, cuts her hair, chauffeurs her to and from the gym twice daily, six days a week--and all the while helps Dominique keep her head on straight. "You have to be prepared for the success and the failure," says Camelia. "That's what defines a great athlete: to be level-headed. You have younger kids following...