Moceanu Dominique - Off Balance: A Memoir

AT FOURTEEN YEARS OLD , Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Womens Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only American womens team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships.

Off Balance vividly delineates each of the dominating characters who contributed to Moceanus rise to the top, from her stubborn father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a public battle with her parents.

But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of which figure into Moceanus incredible journey), the most unique aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers, opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second sisterborn with a physical disability and given away at birthwho has nonetheless followed in Moceanus footsteps in an astonishing way.

A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of sports, Off Balance will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life.

When you have traveled the world, won Olympic gold, and gone through a very public court battle against your parents all by the age of seventeen, surprises dont come easy. Discovering my sister Jennifer, thoughthat was a surprise.

More than a decade after winning gold at the U.S. Olympics, in the middle of college final exams, and nine months pregnant with her first child, Dominique Moceanu got a letter out of the blue that turned everything she thought she knew about her family upside down. The writer was her biological sister, given up for adoption by their parents when Moceanu was just six years old.

This unimaginable scenario caused her to question everything she believed about her family and her life and reopened some old wounds about her unrelenting years of training and the often-dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics. Ultimately, Moceanu finds a way to embrace her new familyand accept her pastin order to reclaim her life and the sport she loves.

DOMINIQUE MOCEANU is the youngest American gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal, and the youngest to win a Senior National All-Around title. She lives with her husband and two children near Cleveland, Ohio.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER

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Copyright 2012 by Dominique Moceanu and Paul Williams

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Touchstone hardcover edition June 2012

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moceanu, Dominique, 1981

Off balance / Dominique Moceanu with Paul and Teri Williams.

p. cm.

A Touchstone Book.

1. Moceanu, Dominique, 1981 2. Women gymnastsUnited StatesBiography. 3. GymnasticsSocial aspects. I. Williams, Paul. II. Williams, Teri. III. Title.

GV460.2.M63A3 2012

796.44092dc23

[B]

2011040276

ISBN 978-1-4516-0865-6

ISBN 978-1-4516-0867-0 (eBook)

To my dear husband, Michael, you have shown me that old scars can heal and have helped me reignite my passion for gymnastics. My love for you is timeless .

To the city of Cleveland, for accepting and treating me as one of your own, and providing the ideal backdrop to raise my family .

To the gymnastics fans who have stood by me, I am honored by your continued support. Your loyalty has been one of the highlights of my career. To those who have always told me to write a book, well, here it is!

Dominique

Off Balance

W hen you have traveled the world, won Olympic gold, and gone through a very public court battle against your parents all by the age of seventeen, surprises dont come easy. Discovering my sister Jennifer, though that was a surprise.

On December 10, 2007, I found out that I had a second sister. I was nine months pregnant and about to take my college semester finals. With swollen feet and body parts bigger than I had ever imagined possible, I couldnt even squeeze into a school desk anymore. But earning a college degree was a promise I had made to myselfand third trimester or not, I was going to get those finals done.

Cleveland was cold, rainy, and gray in a bona fide Ohio winter way. All I wanted to do was finish my exams, cuddle up under a blanket with some hot chocolate, and wait for the imminent arrival of my firstborn. But alas, that was not yet in the cards. I was headed for a study session right after a quick stop at the post office.