Word: romania
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...eyes in the final race were on Romania--the pair favored for the gold--and the boat from the Eastern European nation was ahead from the start...
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...
...while, Dimitry was propelled by a single disappointment from his youth. As a teen on Romania's junior national gymnastics team, he had 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...
When Dominique was only 3 1/2, Dimitry called Karolyi, whom he had known in Romania before the coach's defection. "He laughed," Dimitry recalls. "He said, 'Don't bring her now. Bring her when she's nine or 10.'" Undaunted, Dimitry enrolled Dominique in a class in the Chicago area, and, as he'd hoped, she took to the sport naturally. Two months after Dominique's 10th birthday, Dimitry drove her to Houston. When Dominique saw the sign on Karolyi's gym, she squealed excitedly, "What are we doing here?" Dimitry answered, "Surprise...
Dominique, who was never told Karolyi had retired, figured he would show up one day. Meanwhile, coaches were brought in from Russia and Romania to work with her on the floor, bars and vault. But her main coach was Martha, who groomed her for what would become her strongest event, the balance beam. "I'm pretty close to Martha," says Moceanu. "When I have a problem I can talk to her. It's girl to girl. Um. Woman to woman." Moceanu giggles. "Well, kid to woman...